


Legacy

by thelureofadream



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Childbirth, Children, Drama, Future Fic, Grandchildren, M/M, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Rivalry, Skating, Unrequited Crush, VictUuri, Victor being Extra, Victuuri children, inspired by natsu's lovechildren au, lots of skating, otayuri children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2018-10-14 06:24:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 62,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10530753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelureofadream/pseuds/thelureofadream
Summary: It is time for a new generation of skaters to show the world that they are not in the shadow of their fathers…Ren Nikiforov and Omar Altin, longtime rivals, best friends, and skating prodigies are at the peak of their skating career with the Grenoble Olympics looming ahead. But this year Omar’s little brother, Dmitri, is making his senior debut and changing the entire skating world. While it’s a blast from the past for the older gang of skaters through the Grand Prix Final and beyond, will these new skaters be able to handle the new pressures as life and love really take a front seat for them?





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Legacy. What is a legacy?  
> It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see  
> I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me  
> America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me  
> You let me make a difference  
> A place where even orphan immigrants  
> Can leave their fingerprints and rise up  
> I’m running out of time. I’m running, and my time’s up  
> Wise up. Eyes up."  
> \- The World Was Wide Enough, Hamilton The Musical

_My parents would always say they called everything on the ice “love.” It was on the ice that they met. It was on the ice that they first fell in love. And it was on the ice that they brought up their family. And my siblings and I lived for the ice. I think I learned to ice skate before I could properly learn to walk. It was no surprise that my life would be on the ice, as I grew up a figure skater like my parents._

_It was on the ice I first met Omar. Our friendship started on the ice and it grew to be much more. No one knows me better than Omar and no one knows him better than me. I couldn’t imagine life without the ice and without him._

_And it was on the ice I first realized that I was in love with Omar._

_\---_

“ _And representing Russia, we have Tatiana Nikiforova with the gold!_ ” came the announcer’s booming voice over the speakers, drowned out by cheers. “ _At 27 years old, this is Nikiforova’s second World’s gold medal of her career. Of course this is to be expected of the child of Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov, skating legends in their own right.”_

Tatiana skated forward, the silver and bronze medalists at her side to the podium, her face glowing. Between her, her younger brother, and her parents, she was no stranger to getting medals. However, it did not dull the excitement of winning one more. Especially when she knew that this was the final competition of her career, here in Hong Kong. It was rather classic of a Nikiforov to retire with a bang. Of course, no one knew she was planning to retire with the exception of her husband and her coach.

She bowed as the medal was placed around her neck. She then held the medal in her hand, grinning widely. She looked out into the crowd where she could see her family standing proudly. Her husband, Erik Sokolov, was clapping, his eyes shining with pride. Next to him was her twin brother, Piotr who was holding up a huge sign with her name on it. He had always been her biggest fan. Beside him were her parents, Yuuri and Victor. Yuuri was crying tears of joy and Victor had his usual goofy heart shaped grin as he hugged his husband. And finally was her younger brother, Ren, who was smiling with his mouth, but his eyes clearly showed worry. Tatiana knew why. His competition was not over. He still had a free skate to do in the men’s division. He still had reason to be stressed. But Tatiana was sure he would do well. They were the children of the greatest figure skating duo in history. And they were making sure they, too, went down in history. Tatiana held the medal high for her family and then kissed the gold.

After the awards ceremony and as the crowds began to die down, Tatiana joined her family. Victor jumped forward, embracing her daughter in a tight hug.

“You were absolutely amazing this competition.”

“I’m so proud of you, sweetheart!” Yuuri added, joining in the hug.

“I couldn’t do it without either of you. Thanks Dad! Thanks Tousan!” Tatiana beamed, hugging them both back.

Tatiana’s husband came forward and kissed her. “I’m so proud of you, love,” he said warmly. “You’ve done so well this season. How are you feeling?”

“Overwhelmed, woozy, ready to take a nap,” Tatiana laughed. “But otherwise okay.”

She then broke from him and turned to her younger brother. “And Ren, I expect to see you up there with a gold medal as well.”

Ren nodded, his face full of determination. “Don’t worry, Tati. I won’t let you down.”

“You better not. You’ve been working too hard and I’m sure you’ll wanna rub it in Omar’s face!”

“Yo, Ren!”

Ren turned around to see Omar Altin walking up to him. _Speak of the devil,_ Ren thought.

“Hey Tatitana. Congratulations! What’s up, Nikiforovs?” Omar said, acknowledging the others before turning to Ren again. “So, a bunch of us are going out to dinner at this hot pot place down the street. You interested?”

“Sure… sounds good,” Ren responded. “Anyone in the group gonna help us actually order stuff or do they speak one of our languages?”

“I think one of the girls is from China so she can help us out,” Omar shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. Hong Kong is touristy enough that we might be able to get by with English.”

“But Ren! I thought we were all gonna go out tonight as a family tonight for dinner,” Victor said.

“Well, Erik and I were planning to go back to the hotel tonight and rest,” Tatiana said quietly. “I’m not really feeling up for staying out much longer. I’m so tired from all the events today I might pass out.”

“Come on!” Victor whined. “First Ren and now you? You guys aren’t any fun anymore!”

“I’m still willing to hang out with you guys!” Piotr chimed in.

“Go hang out with your brother and Omar,” Victor decided. His voice then got really low. “Yuuri and I will just spend the evening alone.”

He wrapped an arm around his husband and pressed their cheeks closer together. Yuuri turned bright red when he realized what Victor was implying. Piotr, Ren and Omar gagged and quickly headed off to meet the other skaters that were going out to eat.

\---

After dinner, Ren and Omar made their way back to their hotel room. Even though they were always competing against each other, they were still from the same skating team and they were still best friends. They preferred sharing a hotel room with each other than with their siblings or worse, their parents.

Omar Altin was the son of Otabek Atlin and Yuri Plisetsky. At only 19 years old, Omar had already collected his fair share of bronze, silver and gold medals at many figure skating competitions both in Russia and internationally. His normally brute personality off the ice was contradicted by his graceful character when he was on the ice. Some wondered if his skills were a gift from being the son of the most decorated figure skater in history (Plisetsky), or the fact that he had spent his entire figure skating career being coached by the second most decorated figure skater (Victor Nikiforov).

Ren had just as many medals and people wondered the same about him, whether being a Nikiforov or being coached by a Plisetsky gave him an unfair advantage. The duo since their senior debuts have always been the ones to make it to the podium at every competition. There was never any question over whether they would make it to the podium. The question always became who would score higher. It was never really clear which of the two of them was the better figure skater. Some competitions, Ren would amaze the audience with his jumps. Other competitions, Omar would dazzle the judges with his spins and step sequences. Their rivalry was playful but also serious. Every competition had people on bated breath, wondering whether it was Omar Altin or Ren Nikiforov would win the next competition.

This year seemed to be Omar’s year as he had placed gold in the Grand Prix Final, Russian Nationals and European Championships. Ren placed silver in all three but the most recent, the Europeans was particularly heartbreaking because he had lost by 1.3 measly points, something Omar liked to remind him about regularly. Ren and his coach had worked hard since, ready to make a comeback for Worlds. The short program did not start off in his favor though. Omar was currently in first place with Ren close behind after the short program.

“Well now that your sister won, at least both our families can celebrate,” Omar mentioned as he took off his jacket. “But now tomorrow we’ll see if which one of us will be celebrating with our sibling.”

Omar’s younger brother, Dmitri, won Junior World’s two days prior.

“Looking at the trend this year, I’m sure Dmitri and I will be holding up our gold medals together,” Omar grinned.

“You haven’t seen the surprise I’ve added to my routine,” Ren winked. “Your dad and I have been training extra at the rink when you’re not around.”

“Always with the surprises with you Nikiforovs,” Omar rolled his eyes. He plopped face down onto his bed. He then muttered something.

“What was that?” Ren asked, sitting on the bed next to him.

“I just want to make my parents proud,” Omar repeated. “This is my last competition before Dmitri makes his senior debut and you know he’s gonna kick both our asses.”

“Come on,” Ren laughed. “Dmitri is good but he’s only competed at the junior level. I’m sure things will change when he’s in the big leagues. He’s competing against us after all.”

“He’s better than me,” Omar admitted. “Already. He’s 14 years old and he’s better than me. And it’s not fair. It’s because he’s actually part Plisetsky.”

Ren bit his lower lip, knowing exactly what Omar meant. Omar and Dmitri were biologically half brothers, having the same woman as their surrogate mother, an anonymous Russian egg donor they had never met. Omar’s biological father was Otabek, making him half Kazakh and half Russian. Dmitri’s biological father was Yuri, making him full Russian. While biology didn’t make a family and their parents loved them both the same, Omar always felt that Yuri was closer to Dmitri and that Dmitri had some sort of genetic advantage over him.

“You are a better skater because you are you, not because of anything else,” Ren said, rubbing his friend’s back. “You have worked so hard to get to this point and you deserve every award you’ve ever gotten. Don’t let your brother get to you. You’re at a whole different level from him. Besides…”

He leaned close to Omar’s face. “I’m your true rival. I won’t let anyone else take my place. Only I can kick your ass in competition.”

Omar chuckled. He grabbed the pillow and threw it at Ren’s face.

“You better get ready to kiss silver, Nikiforov. The gold medal is gonna be mine!”

“Not if I can help it!” Ren responded, throwing the pillow back.

The two engaged in a pillow fight as if they were half their age. They did not care. They had known each other their whole lives, seen each other at their best and their worst. Omar put on a tough front all the time but to Ren, he was able to open up and Ren was able to meet him halfway. And that was Ren loved most about their relationship. They were fierce when they competed on the ice, but alone in their hotel room, they were vulnerable and open to each other.

At some point, the pillows were forgotten and Omar jumped on top of Ren, pinning him down. Ren surrendered, laughing the whole time.

“As it should be,” Omar chuckled, crawling off of Ren. He then went to his suitcase to change into his pajamas. “I know it’s probably bad luck to sleep with the competition, but can we sleep in the same bed tonight?”

“Of course,” Ren responded without hesitation.

When they were younger, they always used to share a bed in hotel rooms at competitions. Now that they were older, they usually had their own beds but occasionally there would be nights that they would cuddle together. Omar wrapped his arms around Ren as he closed his eyes.

“I’m glad I got you, Ren,” he said, pressing his face close to Ren’s chest. “You’re the only thing that keeps me sane in this crazy world.”

Ren’s heart was beating faster but he hoped Omar did not realize it. Normally he had no trouble being this close to Omar but in recent years, he noticed how his body reacted to his best friend’s touch.

\---

The men’s free skate commenced the next day followed by the exhibition skate the following evening. The evening after that was the banquet where all the skaters celebrated their hard work. Ren, in his stuffy suit and tie entered the banquet hall with his family and were greeted by applause. He turned bright red. Growing up in a famous family in the skating world, Ren was no stranger to the attention and the flashing cameras. It still did not mean he particularly liked it. He tried to stay a little bit behind Tatiana who was beaming brightly under all the cameras. She thrived under the spotlight.

Victor and Piotr immediately went for the table that had the glasses of champagne. They came back carrying multiple flukes. Tatiana refused one but her husband, Erik eagerly took his.

“It’s okay,“ Victor smirked. “We can just give Yuuri the extra one.”

Yuuri sighed. “I know you try this every year, Victor, but we are not going to have a repeat of our first banquet together.”

“Yes please,” Piotr groaned. “Save us the misery of having to see Tousan in his underwear.”

“I’m also 20 kilos heavier than I was when I was in my 20s,” Yuuri muttered, poking his own thighs. “I don’t think anyone wants to see that.”

“I’d want to see that!” Victor squealed giving his husband a hug. His children all groaned.

Several reports immediately gathered around the Nikiforov family. Yuuri put on a fake smile. Even after all these years, he was not a huge fan of the spotlight. Victor and the twins on the otherhand were happy to stand front and center. Erik, having just married Tatiana the year before, was still trying to adjust to this new lifestyle.

“Any questions that you want to ask my amazing sister, Tatiana Nikiforova, World’s Women’s Figure Skating Gold Medalist, you’ll have to go through me first,” Piotr said.

“Ms. Nikiforova,” one of the reporter said, pushing forward with a notepad. “There are rumors with you being 27 years old, that you will be considering retirement soon. But given your gold this year, I’m sure that is nothing but a rumor.”

“People said the same thing about my father when he was my age,” Tatiana replied. “But he still managed to surprise everyone and continue to compete for a little longer. You shouldn’t listen to rumors.”

She then glanced at Erik. He shrugged. “You should tell them though. They’ll find out sooner or later.”

Tatiana sighed. “Fine. Will you excuse me?”

She then made her way up to the front of the hall where the DJ was and whispered something in his ear. He nodded and turned down the music that had been playing in the background. Tatiana took the microphone.

“Attention everyone,” she said. “My name is Tatiana Nikiforova and I would just like to make things clear. It’s better to hear things from the source rather than rumors and gossip. So I would like to make an announcement.”

The room went silent.

“First of all I would like to thank my parents for being so amazing and supportive for me over all these years and teaching me the love of figure skating and the love of the ice. I’d also like to thank my husband, Erik Solokov for his never-ending patience and love for me. He never understood the skating world and I still don’t think he gets it but he still is an amazing fan. I’d also like to thank my couch, Yuri Plisetsky who has been working with me for 14 years and has brought me up to be the best figure skater I can be. Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.

“So I would like to end the gossip and the speculation and let everyone know here and now that this competition is officially my last. I am retiring from competitive figure skating. It is time for the next generation of skaters to earn your support. So thank you all! Enjoy your night.”

She then handed her microphone back to the DJ, ignoring the roar of confusion from the crowd. She eloquently made her way back to her family where everyone except Erik had their mouths wide open in surprise. Victor immediately put his hands on Tatiana’s shoulders.

“Why didn’t you warn us this beforehand?” he asked. “When did you decide you were going to retire?”

“A couple months ago,” Tatiana shrugged. “I think it’s time for me to focus on other things in my life. Don’t worry, Dad. I’m still gonna skate and I’d love to giving coaching a try sometime in the future but right now I need a break from the skating world.”

“We support you no matter what decisions you make,” Yuuri said. “But why didn’t you talk to us about this?”

“Because I was afraid you guys would try to convince me not to retire,” Tatiana said quietly, hanging her head low. “But this is my decision.”

The conversation could not continue because the reporters had come flooding back asking tons of questions. Tatiana took a deep breath and put on her bright smile again.

Ren took that as his cue to leave. Omar was already there in the banquet hall on the other side and, judging by the pink flush on his nose, Ren could already tell he’s had a few flukes of champagne. He had two in his hands.

“Of course Tatiana would do something like that to announce her retirement. Gotta make sure all attention was on her when she announced it,” he slurred. He then handed one of the flukes over to Ren. “To you, Ren Nikiforov! Congratulations on your World’s gold medal!”

“How much have you had to drink?” Ren asked.

“Not enough,” Omar grunted. He chugged the champagne in one gulp. “Not enough to forget this night.”

“It’s not like you to be this much of a sore loser,” Ren frowned. “You’ve gotten silver many times before.”

“It’s not losing to you that pissed me off, Mr. ‘I can now do quad loops and I decided last minute to add them to my free skate’!” Omar growled.

He thrust his cell phone in Ren’s face. Ren took it and read the series of text messages between Omar and his girlfriend. It seemed as if his girlfriend was tired of dating someone who was constantly away at competitions and never available at the times when she needed him. She never once congratulated him on winning silver at Worlds.

“Can you believe that bitch?” Omar spat. “She knew what she was signing up for, dating me. And to dump me over text message? Ugh!”

He threw his cell phone on the ground, cracking the screen. Ren quickly picked it up.

“Maybe we should go outside and get some fresh air,” he suggested.

“No,” Omar grumbled, grabbing the cell phone back. “I’m just gonna go back to my room and drink more. This champagne is crap. I have vodka in my room if you want to join me.”

He started waddling away but then stopped and turned back.

“Don’t worry, Nikiforov, you may have beat me this competition, but the new season starts tomorrow. And this next season is gonna be the ultimate one. Because it’s the Grenoble Olympics and we’re gonna really see who the greatest skater is! And it’s gonna be me!”

With that, Omar saluted Ren and left the banquet hall, ignoring all the stares that followed him. Ren sighed, debating whether to go after him or to let him be alone to cool off. He then felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Victor.

“What’s going on with Omar?” he asked.

“His girlfriend broke up with him,” Ren explained. “He’s not taking it well.”

Victor pursed his lips in thought. Then a sly grin appeared on his face. He leaned in close to his son’s ear. “Well, now you can have a chance with him, right?”

Ren’s face turned beat red. “DAD!”


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks after the World Championships, the Nikiforovs boarded a plane to Japan. Their destination was Yuuri’s hometown, Hasetsu, where his parents and sister still lived and operated the Yutopia Onsen. Yuuri’s parents were working less in their old age and his sister, Mari, now was the one truly running the resort. As they made their way through the airport to collect their luggage, chattering excitedly, the family could not help but turn heads as they traveled.

It was not often you saw foreigners in this part of the country. And even less so, such a perfect looking family. Victor, with his long silver hair pulled back in a messy bun and stubble over his perfectly shaped face, lead his family, wearing sunglasses even though he was inside. To his right was Yuuri, dark hair mixed with greys, chubby frame and a warm smile, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses. Behind them was Tatiana, her hair just as silver as her father’s, flowing behind her. While normally wearing contacts, she opted to wear her glasses while traveling but they did nothing to hide her sparkling blue eyes. Her husband, Erik, had blond hair and the same shade of blue eyes. He was a tall, lanky man, with arms and legs for days. Piotr had dark hair, dark eyes and was on the chubbier side, always with a goofy grin on his face. And finally there was Ren, who looked like a perfect mix between his parents. His hair was a darker silver than Tatiana’s and his eyes were dark brown, covered by his glasses.

If their looks were not enough to make them stand out, they were chatting with each other in Russian, a tongue that few Japanese folk had heard before. Locals stared at the half-Japanese, half-Russian kids, trying to understand where they had come from.

“Okay guys, you know the rules,” Yuuri said in English. “It’s English or Japanese here. Your grandparents and Aunt Mari don’t know any Russian.”

“My Japanese is so rusty,” Tatiana complained. “I haven’t used it since the last time we came to Japan.”

“I don’t want anyone to feel left out,” Yuuri reminded them. “And I’m sure it’ll come back once you spend some time here.”

“I’m gonna feel left out,” Erik sighed. He knew no Japanese.

 Victor took off to get a rental car while the rest of his family waited with the luggage. Ren pulled out his phone, texting Omar that he had made it to Japan and was already wanting to go back to Russia. Omar responded with a shrug emoji and told him to get over it.

 _Your family is better than mine,_ he responded.

Ren sighed. It was true. He would take his goofy dads over any other parents any day. Omar on the other hand grew up with such intense fathers, one who spent his whole life being a prodigy figure skater and another who barely showed emotion. It was a wonder that those two were still together after all this time and were able to raise two sons who turned out all right.

 Victor pulled up with the minivan and everyone piled in. Then the Nikiforovs made their way to Hasetsu.

\---

“We’re home!” Yuuri called out in Japanese as they came into Yutopia Springs.

“Welcome home!” squealed his mother, Hiroko. She immediately wrapped Yuuri in a tight hug. “I’m so happy to have my baby home.”

“It’s great to see you, too, Kaasan,” Yuuri said warmly.

“And Vicchan,” Hiroko continued, hugging Victor as well. “Please teach me your amazing ways of never growing old. You look the same as when you first came to Yutopia.”

“Oh, I’m not that young and spry anymore,” Victor chuckled, blushing.

Hiroko then turned to her grandchildren. “Pi-kun, Ta-kun, Ren-kun, you three have grown so much! I can’t believe it.”

“It’s so great to see you again, obaasan,” Tatiana responded, hugging her grandmother. “You remember my husband, Erik.”

“Oh yes, it’s so great to see you again, Erik-chan. I hope you are taking care of my daughter,” Hiroko beamed.

Erik paled at the Japanese that was thrown at him. He only recognized his name. Tatiana chuckled and quickly translated for him.

“Oh, I am so sorry, Erik-chan,” Hiroko said, switching to English. “It is good to see you.”

“ _Mata o ai shimashita ne_ ,” Erik said with a bow. _Nice to see you again._ It was one of the few Japanese phrases he had learned from Tatiana. It was received with a hug from Hiroko.

“Please come in everyone. I’ll show you to your rooms!” she said, leading them in.

Victor and Yuuri were ushered to the room Victor had when he had stayed at Yutopia decades ago. Tatiana and Erik got their own room. Yuuri’s childhood bedroom was converted into a guest room with two beds and that was where Piotr and Ren would sleep.

“Man, my head hurts from trying to understand all the Japanese,” Piotr laughed as he put his suitcase on his bed. “We haven’t been here in, what? Three years? I think that’s the last time I spoke Japanese.”

“Yeah, last time was when I was in the NHK competition,” Ren responded. “It’s been a long time since we were in Hasetsu though. Not since I was 17 or 18…”

“I’m sure Obaasan is happy to have us all here though,” Piotr said warmly. “She’s getting really old, though.”

There was a knock on the door and Piotr and Ren looked up to see Mari Katsuki leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

“Aunt Mari!” Ren grinned. He ran over to give her a big hug.

“Gosh, Ren,” Mari responded. “Can you please stop getting taller?”

“I’m pretty sure my growth spurt is done,” Ren laughed.

Mari sighed. “I remember when you were born and you were so tiny. I can’t believe you’ve grown up to be such a handsome man. I’m so proud of you, Ren, I hope you know that.”

“You’re proud of me, too, right, Aunt Mari?” Piotr cut in.

“Of course, Pi-kun!” Mari laughed. She hugged her other nephew as well. “So why haven’t you brought yourself a girlfriend on this trip?”

Piotr turned red and Ren laughed.

“That’s because Piotr’s trying to find himself a Japanese wife,” he teased.

“Not funny!”

After everyone was settled, they made their way to the hot springs. Yuuri owned a resort in St. Petersburg with fake hotsprings, modeled after Yutopia, but nothing compared to the real thing. The only difference was that, here, people were more willing to bathe together naked. Ren tried to forget the image of his fathers as they ripped off their towels and hopped into the springs. That was more of them than he ever wanted to see.

The warm water felt nice against his tense muscles after a full day of travel. He allowed himself to lie his head back against one of the rocks and close his eyes. He listened to the conversations between Erik and Piotr and between his fathers.

 _Omar would like this, too_ , he thought. _Just a chance to get away from everything…_

By the time dinner was ready, the Nikiforovs were much more relaxed. They changed into comfier clothes and gathered around the table. Mari, Hiroko and Yuuri’s father, Toshiya, joined. As expected, their dinner to celebrate the first Katsuki family gathering in a long time was katsudon.

“ _Itadakimasu,_ ” Erik said with his hands pressed together, pleased that he was able to use another Japanese phrase he had learned. He went for his food but then noticed that Tatiana was staring at her plate, her hand covering her nose and mouth.

“Are you all right, love?” he asked.

“It’s just a bit too much right now,” she admitted. “The smell’s bothering me.”

“You’re not going to vomit are you?” Erik asked.

Tatiana shook her head.

“Is everything all right?” Yuuri asked.

“Yeah, my stomach is just a little off still,” Tatiana explained.

She glanced at Erik with furrowed brows. Erik shrugged. It was obvious a conversation was going between them silently with just facial expressions.

“Is everything all right?” Yuuri asked again, this time more worried.

“I’ll be right back,” Tatiana said.

She got up from the table and headed upstairs to her room, leaving everyone confused. She returned holding a folder and kneeled between her fathers.

“You wanna tell them now?” Erik asked in Russian. Tatiana nodded.

“Hey!” Victor reminded them. “No Russian! English or Japanese only.”

“We have an announcement for you guys. We wanted to wait until we were all together with Obaasan and Ojiisan and Aunt Mari,” Tatiana explained. She opened the folder and pulled out a small photo. She placed it in front of her fathers.

Yuuri frowned as he picked up the photo. It was black circle with grey blurs on it, almost resembling a…

“Baby…” Victor whispered.

Tatiana and Erik beamed.

Yuuri’s eyes began to water. He looked up at Tatiana and Erik. “You guys are having a baby?”

Tatiana’s eyes began to water, too, as she nodded. “Yes, Tousan. I’m two months pregnant.”

“I’m gonna be a grandfather?” he asked, his voice cracking.

Tatiana nodded again.

“Can I?” Yuuri asked, holding out his hand.

Tatitana laughed. “There isn’t really too much to see yet. I’m barely showing.” She lifted her shirt up to reveal the slightest curve at the bottom of her stomach. Yuuri put his hand on that spot and that was enough for him to burst into tears.

“My baby is having a baby,” he cried out, enveloping her in a big hug.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you guys sooner,” Tatiana explained. “We wanted to wait until I was further along before announcing it.”

She looked over at Victor who had not said anything yet. That was because he was frozen, tears falling from his long lashes, as he stared at the ultrasound picture.

“I haven’t seen Victor this speechless since he saw the ultrasound pic of you guys before you were born,” Mari chuckled.

“Daddy?” Tatiana whispered, wiping the tears off of Victor's cheeks.

“I’ve never been so happy in my life,” Victor whispered. He put the ultrasound photo down and embraced his daughter. “Thank you so much.”

Yuuri was already covered in snot and tears. He was much less of an elegant crier than his husband was. He joined Victor and Tatiana in the embrace. They began to kiss her cheeks. Tatiana couldn’t help but begin crying as well to see how happy she had made her parents.

Hiroko and Toshiya had watery eyes as well as they picked up the ultrasound picture and looked at it. Mari looked over their shoulder with a warm smile on her face. Ren looked around at his family, excited for his sister and brother in law, but wondering if it was okay for him to eat while everyone else was crying. He decided to pick up a piece with the chopsticks and put it up to his lips.

“Wait a minute,” Piotr said suddenly.

Everyone stopped and stared at Piotr who was holding up his fingers as if he was just counting.

“If you’re two months along, that means you competed at World’s while pregnant,” he said. “Did you know?”

Tatiana bit her lower lip. “Well… that’s the other reason I didn’t tell you guys right away…”

 Victor's jaw dropped. “You skated at World’s while _pregnant_?!”

Tatiana shrugged. “In my defense, I had only found out a week beforehand. And I talked with my doctor beforehand and knew the risks. Yura was so mad when I told him that I wanted to compete regardless—”

“Wait a second,” Yuuri frowned. “ _Yurio_ knew you were expecting before we did?”

“He had to,” Tatiana said nervously. “He was the only one who knew though. I just figured if something happened to me during the competition, someone should know.”

“If it makes you feel better, Plisetsky knew Tatiana was pregnant before I did,” Erik muttered, still bitter about the fact.

“I had to tell someone when I got the phone call about the bloodwork and I happened to be at practice and Yura was right there—” Tatiana tried to explain.

“Can we please just take a moment to realize that Tatiana was _six weeks pregnant_ when she won the World Figure Skating Championships?!” Piotr reiterated. “My sister is so badass!”

He jumped up and ran over to his twin to wrap her in a huge hug. “My sister is making me an uncle. I’m so excited! You’re gonna name him after me, right?”

Tatiana laughed, hoping Piotr wasn’t serious. Though knowing him, he very well could be and she secretly hoped for a girl so she wouldn’t get pressured to name her child Piotr II in the future.

\---

There were few guests left in the common room, watching a soccer game and enjoying their drinks. Ren was one of the few, though he was not paying too much attention to the TV. He was focusing on his laptop, listening to songs that he could potentially use for his free skate next season. He had already chosen his short program song but he was not sure where he wanted to go with his free program. He was so engrossed in what he was doing, he did not realize that Mari had snuck up next to him. He jumped when she tapped his shoulder, leading to a fit of laughter from his aunt.

“You’re supposed to be relaxing and on vacation,” she reminded him. “Why do you look so focused?”

“I’m trying to figure out my free skate song for this next season,” Ren explained, pulling the headphones off his head.

Mari sighed. “You’re just like your father, always so focused on skating,” she smiled. “You know, you’ve grown up to look so much like him.”

“Really?” Ren frowned. “I mean I got his hair, but I don’t think I look much like Dad at all.”

Mari shook her head. “I didn’t mean Victor. I meant Yuuri. Out of all the kids, you are the most like him.”

“Tousan said I have your smile though,” Ren grinned.

Mari couldn’t help but smile back. “I guess you’re right. Well that’s good. I should get something out of the deal since I had to go through the torture of birthing you guys.” She wrapped Ren in a huge hug.

“Thanks Okaasan!” Ren laughed. That caused the hug to turn into a headlock.

“Don’t you dare call me that, Ren-kun!” Mari laughed. “I’m your Aunt Mari and that’s it.”

When the twins and Ren were old enough to understand, Victor and Yuuri explained that Mari, while having no kids of her own, was the surrogate mother for the three of them, so that they could truly be half-Katsuki and half Nikiforov. After getting over the initial shock that it meant that their Tousan was biologically their uncle, the three quickly realized that biology did not determine a family. Yuuri was just as much their father as Victor was. And Mari was more than aunt than anything else.

That didn’t mean Ren liked to tease Mari sometimes call her okaasan to annoy her. She hated the idea of being called mom.

“Tatiana was talking to me earlier, though,” Mari continued after she let her nephew go. “I guess it must have been interesting for her, growing up in a family of all guys. I mean, she has plenty of female friends but I didn’t realize until she pulled me aside earlier, that she doesn’t really have an older female influence growing up. She’s actually really scared about being a mom. She asked me of all people, for advice. It made me realize that I never was a mom to you guys and I wonder if I should have been.”

Ren shook his head. “You didn’t have to be our mom,” he said. “And we would never ask that of you. You just continue to be the most amazing aunt we’ve ever had and all will be fine.”

“I’m the only aunt you’ve ever had,” Mari reminded him with a wink. She wrapped him in a hug again. “I’m really proud of the young man you’ve grown up to be, Ren. Every day, you continue to amaze me. I am happy and proud to be your aunt. You’ve achieved so much. And I know your fathers are proud, too.

“You’re going to continue to do wonderful things,” she continued. “You’re so much like Yuuri, I can only expect the best from you. You must be so excited with the Olympics this year. I know you’ll qualify and I’ll be there in Grenoble cheering you on. I promise. But for now, you should take a break from the skating world and spend time with your family. It’s not often that we get to spend so much time with you guys.”

Ren nodded and closed his laptop. He followed Mari to the dining room where Victor and Yuuri were still up.

“Ren!” Victor smiled. “Where have you been all evening?”

“I was trying to pick a song for next season’s free skate,” Ren explained.

 Victor frowned. “This soon? You’re on vacation. Relax!”

“We’ve already gotten in contact with someone to arrange your short program music,” Yuuri informed him. “So you can afford to take a break and relax.”

“Woah, who are you and what have you done with my Tousan?” Ren laughed. “What are you talking about relaxing?”

“Well, if you spend too much time focused on skating, you’ll never be able to really enjoy the other important things in your life,” Victor explained. “Especially things like life and love.”

“Yeah, well you happened to find both of those while ice skating. And with the Olympics coming up, I’d really like my life and love to be focused on my new programs,” Ren responded. “It’s not like I expect to fall in love with someone on the ice like you two did.”

“Sure,” Victor smirked. “Well, anyways, right now, our focus is on your brother and getting him someone to love. I was just telling your father here that we need to get him married and out of the house.”

“You’re not gonna kick me out when I’m 27 are you?” Ren asked nervously.

“I think you’ll be fine, Ren,” Victor winked. “Father’s intuition.”

Ren frowned, not sure what that was supposed to mean.

“Don’t feel pressured into anything you don’t want to do just because of what your father says,” Yuuri reminded him. “We just want you to be happy.”

“And being on the ice makes me happy,” Ren responded with a firm nod. “I’ll worry about the life and love stuff later when I’m retired.”

“So, what do you say we play some Mahjong or not?” Mari interrupted. “That’s why you asked me to bring Ren in here in the first place.”

She gestured toward the box that contained the tiles. Ren had not played this game in quite a long time, probably since the last time he came to Hatsetsu. But he agreed to play anyways. Turned out, he was a natural and was easily beating his parents and aunt. In the middle of their fun and laughter, Ren looked up at the other three with a smile. He truly was a mixture of all three of them.


	3. Chapter 3

 

“Reeeeeennnnnn! I hate maths! Help me!”

Ren chuckled and rolled over so he could see what math problem Omar was complaining about this time. It was the middle of the summer and since the weather was warm, they thought it was a good idea to lay out on the grass at the park while Omar did his schoolwork for university. Both their parents had emphasized that, even though Ren and Omar were already international professional athletes, it was important for them to get their education, no matter how long it took. So during the off-season, they took classes in university. Ren only had one class left before he graduated but Omar, who was younger and just started university two years prior, still had a long way to go. However, doing their homework while outside had proved to be a poor idea. Ren got through a page of his modern Russian literature book and decided to take a nap with the book laid open and forgotten. Omar was on his stomach, staring at the math textbook, calculator by his side and notes scribbled in his notebook. Those were the notes Ren looked at now.

“This is so pointless,” Omar growled. “I’m just gonna be a coach like Pops when I retire from figure skating. I don’t need a university education. He did just well without one.”

“Maybe you should change your major then,” Ren suggested. “Change it to something you like.”

“I can’t. Äke said I have to have a practical major for after I retire from skating. I think he says that because he thought his DJing career would take off after he was done skating,” Omar shrugged. “I mean, everyone knows that an old man DJing wouldn’t work. If anything, he was not being practical.”

“I think Otabek is just being a dad and trying to give his kids a better life than he had,” Ren reasoned.

Omar scoffed. “His life is awesome. He’s got me for a son. What better life would anyone want?”

Ren laughed.

“Though I guess it makes sense,” Omar sighed. “I don’t think Äke expected to have a desk job in his old age. I bet he’d just love to have himself a sugar daddy and just be able to lay around the house all day but Pops would never let him.”

“Would you be my sugar daddy and just let me skate all day instead of work?” Ren teased.

“No, because I’m too busy finding myself a sugar mama who will take care of me,” Omar responded, rather quickly. “Get your own.”

He looked up and tapped his pencil against his lip in thought.

“Actually, Ren, I don’t think you’ve ever had a serious girlfriend?”

Ren turned bright red. “Well, that’s because girls want the glamor of dating a skater without all the hard work of dating one.”

Omar nodded. His last three relationships had failed because his girlfriends couldn’t handle his lifestyle.

“Why don’t you date one of the girls on the team?” he suggested.

Ren grimaced. “Like who?”

“Yulia’s had a crush on you for years,” Omar winked.

“Yulia? She’s 17! She’s still a kid!” Ren shook his head. “She needs someone her own age.”

“Louise Giacometti is pretty cute,” Omar smirked. “As long as you don’t mind a long distance relationship.”

Ren shook his head. “She’s too much work and too much drama.”

“Either of the Crispino girls?”

“I can’t tell those two apart.”

“Do you even like girls?” Omar raised an eyebrow. “Now that I think about it, you’ve never told me about girls you liked, ever.”

Then it hit him. He sat up quickly, putting his hands on Ren’s shoulders.

“Oh, my god! Are you gay, Ren?”

“NO!” Ren responded rather too quickly. Now he was red all the way up to his ears. “I just never really cared too much about relationships is all…”

“Oh, so you’re asexual,” Omar nodded. “That’s cool, too. You know I’d accept you no matter what. You can tell me anything.”

He smirked at his blushing friend.

“J-just shut up and go back to your maths,” Ren stammered. “We have practice this afternoon so hurry up and finish.”

“Sure, _mom_ ,” Omar chuckled and went back to his work. Ren then turned back to his book, though his heart was pounding so hard he could not focus on the words.

\---

St. Petersburg’s Figure Skating Team consisted of 15 figure skaters, 6 guys, 5 girls and two sets of pair skaters, all ranging between the ages of 13 to 26. The team was headed by Yuri Plisetsky and Victor Nikiforov who worked specifically with half the groups each. It wasn’t often that all 15 of them were together at the skating rink at once, having their own schedules with their respective coaches. However, Yuri and Victor wanted to gather them all to start off the new season.

Their husbands, Otabek and Yuuri respectively, were also out on the ice. They were not directly involved in coaching the new generation of skaters, but they still liked to be involved. As Ren leaned against the half wall of the rink, he looked at the four older men, trying to remember what they all looked like when they were younger and in their prime. He had seen so many pictures and videos but he could not imagine any of them being able to land some of quads that were their specialties back in the day. The years had finally taken their toll on them, giving them a few extra pounds on their stomachs and wrinkles on their face and white hairs on their heads.

 Victor was showing off Tatiana’s latest ultrasound pictures, flashing them in Yuri and Otabek’s faces.

“Look at my little grandson or granddaughter. They’re sucking their thumb. It’s so cute! I’m already in love!” he squealed.

“I know, Victor. You’ve only shown us this picture about 100 times already,” Yuri growled, pushing the photo out of the way.

“Tatiana was telling us that she can feel the baby move in her belly now. Isn’t that amazing? She’s got the cutest little bump now,” Victor gushed.

Yuri sighed. “I don’t know why I continue to work with you all these years. You’re gonna make my hair as grey as yours soon.”

“My hair is not grey!” Victor shouted, defensively. “It’s always been this color, ever since I was a kid.”

“Yeah, because you’ve always been an old man,” Yuri chuckled. “Even when we were younger, you started having a receding hairline.”

“You’ve wounded me,” Victor muttered, falling down to his knees and burying his face in his hands. “Yuuri, come save me.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes, used to his husband’s shenanigans. “You’re on your own, Vitya.”

“Double wounded!” Victor hollered.

“You see what I have to deal with every day?” Yuri asked, turning to Otabek.

Otabek just smirked. “But you still work with him after all this time,” he reminded him.

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” Yuri deadpanned. He then turned back to Victor who was still on the ground. “Get up old man. We have a job to do.”

“Fine,” Victor said, getting up. “Still know that you hurt my feelings.”

“You’ll get over it,” Yuri rolled his eyes. “You always do.” Then he cupped his hands around his mouth. “Okay, everyone gather round!”

The skaters stopped their own conversations and made their way over to a half circle around their coaches.

“Now as you know, this season is big with the Grenoble Olympics in February,” Yuri began, his arms crossed. “We have three men’s singles, two women’s singles and one pairs skating spot available for all of Russia and I want those skaters to come from St. Petersburg. I want your motivation to be working to that goal. So skate like an Olympian this year. I expect only the best from each and every one of you.”

“So I hope you guys have been thinking about your themes this year,” Victor continued. “If you have song ideas for your programs, we can go through it in your individual practices but I wanted us all to gather together to hear what you guys have been thinking about for this season.”

Yuri nodded. “We’ll start with Yulia,” he said.

Yulia Popovitcha skated forward slightly. “I would like my theme this year to be something like ‘nature.’ I got the idea when my family took a vacation to Costa Rica this summer. All the plants and animals there were amazing, it was unlike anything you’ll see in St. Petersburg. I think it’s too cold here,” she giggled.

Yuri nodded. “We can work with that. No one else has a theme like that, right?” The other skaters shook their head. “Okay, how about you, Timofey?”

Each skater stepped forward with their ideas of the stories they wanted to tell with their skating this season. Some had concrete ideas and others looked like they did not have a word quite for what they wanted to say but with some help from the group, everyone was coming up with their own stories they wanted to tell.

“Okay, Omar, your turn,” Victor said.

Omar skated forward, a knowing smile on his face. “My theme this year is ‘determination.’ The stakes are high this year and I’m at my prime. I want to show the world that I’m determined to be the best skater out there.” He looked behind him and winked at Ren who rolled his eyes.

Yuri nodded with a grin on his face. “I like it, Omar,” he said. “It’ll be such a contrast to your usual themes.”

“I want people to see a new Omar Altin this year,” Omar continued. “Not the sweet innocent angel on the ice. I want to show that I’m a badass skater.”

“Well if you could actually land a quad flip, maybe you would be a badass skater,” Dmitri muttered.

Omar glared at his brother. “And I have a lot of determination to prove that I’m the better Altin.”

Dmitri shrugged. “We’ll see,” he muttered. “It’s our first time competing in the same division and I have every intention of kicking your ass.”

“Okay, save the fire for the actual competitions,” Victor called out. “No matter what, you guys are still on the same team and should support each other.”

“Well, I’ll have you know that my theme is ‘Legacy,’” Dmitri added. “I don’t think it needs much explanation. I come from parents who started a legacy, I’m coached by a legend. And now I’m going to start my own legacy with my senior debut.”

 Victor blinked. “Okay, I’m not sure how we can work with something that abstract but we’ll figure it out…”

“Don’t worry, Victor,” Dmitri smirked. “I already have some songs and choreography in mind.”

“You’re going to choreograph your own pieces?” Omar scoffed. “You’re so not old enough to do that. I can barely do that.”

“And that’s why I’m going to kick your ass this season.”

“Okay, guys that’s enough,” Yuri scoffed. “We don’t need this nonsense. You can argue unnecessary things on your own time.”

Omar groaned and skated back to his place in the half circle next to Ren. Dmitri smirked leading to Omar rolling his eyes.

 Victor then turned to Ren, a grin on his face.

“And your theme, Ren?” he asked, even though he knew exactly what it was.

Ren skated forward. “I talked with my parents about this and we all came up with this idea together,” he said quietly. “This season marks 30 years since they first started working together, when Dad first asked to be Tousan’s coach. And Tousan’s theme was on love. And recently, I have been thinking more about love myself, all the different kinds of love. Familial love, brotherly love, love of a parent and romantic love. So, I thought, as tribute to them and an expression of how I feel about the people most important to me, I wanted my theme this year to be the same. So my theme for this season is ‘love.’”

“Gay…” Omar whispered with a smirk leading to a fit of giggles amongst all the skaters.

\---

Tying up his boots, Ren looked up at the ice skating rink. The only two occupants at the time were his father and Omar. Omar was just finishing up a practice and by the looks of it, Victor was putting together some of the choreography of one of his programs.

Even without music and without a full performance, Ren could already see that Omar was taking this season with an entirely different approach. As he skated across the ice, he was no longer a dainty fairy, beautiful and melodic as he grazed over the ice. This skate looked more fierce and intense. It almost made Ren feel a little nervous, sitting on the side.

“Okay, Omar, let’s take it from the top,” Victor said clapping his hands. “And this time, I wanna see it with your jumps. Full out performance mode.”

Omar nodded and skated to the center of the rink. As he got into his starting pose, he looked up and his eyes gazed directly into Ren’s. Ren felt his mouth open a little in shock and felt his heart racing. Omar just smirked in response and lifted his arms slowly as he began his performance.

The beginning was smooth, similar to his old style. His arms were graceful as he spun around. He then began to pick up speed as he went around the rink before jumping into a quad salchow. As soon as he landed, his style changed completely. It was that fierce and intense style Ren had seen when he first came in. His step sequence was accompanied by him swinging his arms in front of him, as if he were trying to punch someone else. His face was scrunched in concentration. He finished the sequence and went into several spins, incorporating his trademark Biellman spin. Even as his body had changed from adolescence, he kept his flexibility as he pulled his leg behind him and held it high above his head, arching back and tilting his head up. He continued spinning until he slowed down to a stop and put his leg back down.

He then took a deep breath and looked at Victor. “Not bad, right?”

 Victor tapped his lips with his finger. “You know this is so different from what you usually do,” he warned. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Omar frowned. “Isn’t that your thing, Victor? Always trying to surprise the audience. No one expecting this new Omar Altin. And I gotta put it all in this season. I got two skaters who I gotta beat.”

He glanced over at Ren and nodded. Victor turned around and smiled.

“Oh, Ren! I didn’t see you there. Is it your practice time?”

“It will be in like five minutes,” Ren said quietly.

“Well don’t be shy. You can come here and warm up. The rink is big enough for the two of you,” Victor said.

Ren took off his skate guards and went onto the ice. He began skating around the periphery as Victor addressed Omar again.

“So, we’ll add onto the choreography next time. I think we can make something out of this. But I’m warning you, it’s gonna be challenging because you are so out of your element.”

“There’s another thing,” Omar said. “I want more jumps in my programs. I need the highest technical score possible if I want to be competitive in the Olympics.”

Victor pursed his lips in thought. Then he had a smirk on his face that Omar had learned rather quickly meant nothing good.

“Well, then, you will need to work on your quads. You can only land a salchow and toe loop consistently. Why don’t you stay for a while afterwards to work on your jumps? I’m not going to add anything you can’t handle.”

Omar squinted his eyes. “Don’t you worry, old man. I can handle anything you dish at me. Just you see. I’m going to make you and Russia proud!”

They were interrupted by the sound of a person clapping. Everyone, including Ren, turned to the front door where Yuri Plisetsky was standing. He was the one applauding.

“That’s the fire and spirit I like to hear from you, son,” he smiled. “I think making your theme determination is great motivation for you.”

He made his way over to the edge of the rink and leaned against the barrier. Omar skated close by.

“If you want, I can teach you how to master those jumps in your free time,” Yuri said in a low voice.

“Hey! I heard that!” Victor called out, the smile on his face disappearing instantly. “Yurio, you know we made a promise to each other.”

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT NAME, OLD MAN!” Yuri yelled back.

“And I told you that you can’t be coaching your kids on the side,” Victor reminded him. “Don’t you remember the deal we made?”

“Of course I do,” Yuri groaned. “And I’m realizing it’s a really stupid deal.”

“You should be supporting all of our students equally. No picking favorites,” Victor said, sternly.

“I’m not going to be in the middle of this,” Omar groaned. “Ren can just help me with my jumps.”

He then skated over to join Ren who had stopped skating at the time. When Omar was close, Ren began again so they were skating side by side.

“What do you think of my short program so far?” Omar asked, starting conversation so he could ignore the arguing between Victor and Yuri.

“It’s different,” Ren admitted.

“A good kind of different?”

“I think it’s got potential,” Ren shrugged. “It’s hard to tell in the beginning phases. But it’s you, Omar. You’re able to tell such passionate stories with all of your skates.”

“Thanks, man,” Omar smiled.

By this point, they had made a lap and were back to where Victor and Yuri were still arguing.

“If anything, they would do better having both of us coach them,” Yuri was saying.

“So do you want us to both coach all of our students? Because I don’t think that’s possible,” Victor said. “Not unless you don’t want to sleep ever.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Yuri deadpanned.

“Well, we can’t give our kids any unfair advantage over the other skaters,” Victor reasoned.

“I want to do what it takes to get our skaters to the Olympics. Deal or no deal, we should do what is best for each individual skater,” Yuri responded, his arms crossed over his chest.

Victor laughed with his hands on his hip. “Even at 45, you still act like a little kid, Yurio. Why don’t you work with Ren and we’ll discuss this later?”

“Fine,” Yuri said with a groan. He then turned to Ren. “So, did you bring your short program song you were telling me about?”

Ren nodded and made his way off the ice to his bag that was lying on the side of the rink. He pulled out his music player and handed it to Yuri who stuck the earbuds in his ears. While he was listening, Victor crossed his arms, waiting to see his response. Omar made his way back onto the ice and began practicing jumps. Yuri kept a blank face as he listened to the song. When it finished, he took the earbuds out of his ears.

“Seriously?” he asked.

Ren’s eyes opened wide. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing wrong with the song,” Yuri explained. “It’ll be a great short program. I can see it now. It’s just that… it’s kinda _cheesy_ to be doing an arrangement of that song, don’t you think?”

“That was the point though!” Ren explained. “It’s a celebration of my history and my family. Of course I would be doing an arrangement of _that_ song.”

“What song is it?” Omar called from the rink.

“You don’t get to hear it until competition!” Ren teased.

“No fair!”

“Okay, well let’s do some brainstorming on how we want to put the program together then,” Yuri said. “First of all, I want to see how your axels have been shaping up. I hope you’ve been practicing.”

“Of course!” Ren said quickly. He was only partially lying. He had _thought_ about practicing them.

“How can you not land a triple axel yet?” Omar teased as he skated by him. “You can handle quads in all the other jumps. Isn’t the triple axel your dad’s signature move?”

It was true. Ren had already mastered the jumps to the point where he was pretty reliable in competition. In fact, that was his strongest suit as a skater. But for some reason, the idea of jumping in the air while facing forwards always seemed to be a challenge for him. He was lucky if he could land a double axel even in practice.

He went back onto the ice and began skating another lap. As he picked up speed, he spun around a few times to prepare himself for the jump. He knew the technique but for some reason, his feet always abandoned him as he swung his foot forward for momentum and attempted a triple axel. However, right when he ended up in the air, he knew he did not get enough to make three spins. As he came down, he lost his balance and fell onto his bottom, sliding across the ice.

Yuri sighed. “Well, we’re gonna work on it. You’ve got good competition this year,” he explained. “I heard Diego de la Iglesia from the US is debuting in the senior division this year and he’s really promising. So between him and Dmitri, you got new competition for the Grand Prix Final. Not to mention I’m sure a lot of other new skaters will be joining this season with the Olympics approaching. And I only expect the best from my top student.”

Ren nodded before quickly getting up. He then began skating again, trying to pick up the moment to make the jump this time. He knew when Yuri had a goal for him to achieve, he was going to have to achieve it. The last thing he wanted to do was unleash the wrath of a disappointed Yuri Plisetsky.


	4. Chapter 4

“Ren, the assignments are out!” Yuuri called from downstairs.

Ren immediately jumped off his bed and ran downstairs to where his parents were peering over a computer. He quickly squeezed between the two of them to find out where he and all the other skater friends he had made over the years were going.

“So you’re at Skate America and NHK this year,” Yuuri nodded. “Oh look, Pravat’s gonna be at Skate America, too. I hope Pitchit comes as well. I haven’t seen him in a long time. I’ll send him a message.”

Ren noticed that Omar would be competing in the Rostelelcom Cup and the Cup of China. He wasn’t surprised. Over the years, the ISU had made sure that the rivals never competed against each other until the Grand Prix Final, just to make the competition more interesting for those who were following. But it looked like this year, Ren would be facing an Altin before the final. Dmitri would be competing for the NHK competition.

Ren had seen Dmitri at practice. Now that the fifteen year old was allowed to do quads in competition, he was practicing them fervently, with hopes of adding as many as possible to his performances. Ren had to admit that Dmitri was much more advanced than either he or Omar were at that age. It made him a little nervous to be competing against him this year.

“There’s someone from our team at every competition,” Victor sighed. “It’s getting really exhausting going to all six competitions plus the final every year.”

“What do you expect, Dad?” Ren frowned. “You and Yura coach the biggest skating team in the world.”

“And the team is gonna get bigger,” Yuuri winked. “Tatiana said next season she wants to start coaching and choreographing. So you’ll be able to expand the team further.”

“Speaking of Tatiana,” Victor added, pulling out his cell phone. “Look at this picture she sent me!”

 Victor shoved the phone in Ren’s face. He took it and held it out so he could see better. It was the latest ultrasound picture of her baby. _It’s a girl_ was typed out above the image.

“You’re going to have a niece, Ren! Isn’t that amazing? I still can’t believe it!” Victor squealed.

“It is,” Ren said with a warm smile. He had not really thought about the idea of having kids but seeing Tatiana as her stomach grew had him thinking about what he would do once he retired from skating. He never thought about starting a family because he was so focused on skating but seeing everything his older sister was going through, he sometimes found himself wanting that someday.

In the meantime, he had his placement in the Grand Prix Series and he had to score high to qualify for the finals. While he had qualified for every final since he was 16 years old, he still could not take each competition lightly. There were going to be a few new skaters moving from the junior division to the senior, each with their own unique styles and talents. It kept things interesting and challenging for Ren and it served as a strong reminder that he should not expect to win every competition just because he did so well in the past. He always had to push to get better.

“So, how are your programs going?” Yuuri asked, breaking Ren out of his daydreaming.

“They’re done,” Ren grinned. “We’re just fixing up the little stuff to make sure I’m performance ready. But the framework is there and it’s solid.”

“So, when are you going to show us?” Victor asked.

Ren smiled. “You can get your private show this weekend. We can stop by the rink first thing in the morning before others come in.”

“Sounds good,” Victor grinned.

A few days later, Yuuri, Victor and Ren made their way to the local rink about 7:30 in the morning. While normally the workers would not open it for another hour or so, Victor had a key to the place, a benefit of being the pride of Russia figure skating. They made their way in and Ren immediately dropped his bag on a seat so he could pull out his skates. He handed Yuuri his music player so it could be connected to the overhead speakers. As Yuuri went to set it up, Victor grinned at his son.

“Is this technically breaking the deal, me seeing your performance before competition?” he asked.

“Forget about the deal between you and Yura all those years ago,” Ren smiled as he tied his laces. “This isn’t cheating to show off my performances to my dads. I want you guys to see it.”

He then skated out to the rink and began going through laps to warm up. Victor sighed as he leaned against the sidewall. Yuuri joined him, wrapping an arm around his husband’s waist.

“It’s amazing how much he has grown over these years,” Yuuri sighed. “I can’t believe he’s now my age when I first met you.”

“And just as beautiful a skater,” Victor added, kissing Yuuri on the forehead. “We did a great job raising him, both as a man and a skater.”

“Hmmm,” Yuuri nodded.

Ren sped up and allowed himself to launch up into a jump. Being on the ice was so perfect and so natural for him. He wondered how he was able to walk on the hard floor most of the time. He skated to the center of the rink and took a deep breath before he smiled at his parents and got into his opening pose, one arm curved in front of him, and one arm curved up, as if he were to begin a dance with someone. His right leg was behind him.

Yuuri hit a button on his remote to start the song and Ren began to skate. The sounds of the piano filled the rink as he skated around, moving his arms in front of him, as if he were skating with someone else. It was like a waltz, him and his imaginary partner. He spun around on his skates, arching back. His jumps were clean, though he was doing singles instead of his usual triples and quads. He did not want to exert himself this early in the morning with not a full warm up and he did not want to risk any injury this close to the beginning of competition. But he wanted his parents to see the story he was trying to portray.

He could almost feel someone else’s arms around him as went into his step sequence. The music sped up as he moved his feet quickly underneath him. This was his most challenging point, as step sequences were not his strong suit. But he had been practicing and while he tripped over himself once as he skated around, he was able to continue. The music built up to its crescendo and as he went into his last jump, what would be a quad flip, he stuck with just a double for now. He knew exactly what ending his short program with a quad flip would mean to both his parents and while he still hadn’t gotten it down, he had every intention to. Victor and Yuuri smiled warmly when the saw him launch off and knew exactly what he was planning. Ren then finished with a combination spin sequence, ending abruptly with one hand on his heart and one hand reaching out toward his parents, reminiscent of Yuuri’s free skate 30 years ago. It fit with the music, which also ended abruptly.

He took a moment to catch his breath as he held his pose. Victor and Yuuri began applauding, their eyes filled with so much love for their son. Ren skated over to them and let them embrace him.

“You are going to be so amazing this season,” Victor said. “I’m so proud of you, Ren.”

Yuuri’s eyes were filled with tears. “I can’t believe you are doing this song. It just makes me think of my old days.”

“It truly looked like you were doing an ice dance there,” Victor added, grinning. “Was there anyone you were imagining skating with?”

Ren went red immediately. “Not at all. It was just an idea that Yura and I came up with. Since the song was a waltz, we wanted my program to look like a waltz.”

“I can’t wait to see it with the costume and full jumps,” Yuuri added. “But I can already feel the love coming from your skate, Ren.”

“It’s celebrating your love, guys,” Ren reminded them. “I’m skating this for you.”

Yuuri couldn’t hold back any more. He let the tears fall. Even Victor's eyes started watering as he smiled warmly at his son.

“Then you better get that quad flip at the end if you want to properly honor us,” he reminded him.

Ren nodded. “I promise. I love you, Dad. I love you, Tousan.”

\---

The following weeks passed by quickly, Yura worked with Ren daily on his programs, perfecting them as the Grand Prix was coming close. Ren hated this time of the year, when the hard work was concentrated and he would skate until his feet were screaming and were filled with cuts and bruises. He became a regular visitor to his father, Yuuri’s, onsen-inspired onsen to relax his tired muscles. Now was not the time to worry about anything but skating. The only people Ren ever saw were the other skaters from his team. After practice, he would immediately fall asleep and sleep into until the next afternoon where his next practice would begin.

But he knew that this season was going to be his. He had so much passion and emotion in his skates this year that something changed. He was not just skating for himself but he was skating for his family. He was skating on his love.

“All right, let’s do it again,” Yuri shouted, pausing the music.

Ren stopped mid skate and leaned forward, holding himself up on his knees as he caught his breath.

“What did I do this time?” he groaned.

“Your feet are getting sloppy at your step sequence,” Yuri said. “I need it to be sharper. Start from the beginning.”

Ren bit his lower lip to keep another groan from coming out. Yuri was in competition mode and any error Ren made in practicing meant that he had to start his program from the beginning. He feared telling his coach that his exhaustion from doing the program over and over was what was causing him to mess up more now. He knew Yuri would not take that lightly. This was his style, beat the student down and build them up in a perfect image. A Plisetsky protégé could not be anything less than perfect.

It made Ren envy the skaters on their team who were coached by Victor who had a friendlier approach to skating. Not that they worked any less. They were just mentally were in a better position.

“Listen, you have one goal in mind and that is the gold medal in Grenoble. And in order to do that, you have to get gold all the way through to February. I won’t settle for anything else.”

Ren wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Now let’s do it again from the beginning,” Yuri said, starting over the song for his free program.

Ren started over again, focusing hard to make every turn sharp, every arch at a perfect angle and every jump with just the right amount of distance above the ground. He knew as he skated that he was doing it absolutely perfectly. Yuri let him continue through the program until he got to the crescendo of the song. He skated forward and then launched into a triple axel. However, as soon as his feel left the ice, he knew he had made a mistake. His angle was off and he fell down right on his left hip. He quickly got up and kept skating, surprised that Yuri was continuing the music and not making him start from the beginning. He then went into a spin combination as the song was winding down. He finished with his arms raised in the air, staring at the sky as the song faded.

He was panting as he put his arms down and looked at Yuri for a response. Yuri had his finger against the lips in thought.

“Okay two things,” he said after a moment. “First of all, we are going to take out that triple axel. You promised me that you would practice it and you still haven’t shown much improvement. We’ll put a triple lutz earlier in the performance while you are less fatigued.”

Ren sighed. He really had tried to master the axel but it was still his achille’s heel. He then skated closer to Yuri to get more critiques.

“Second of all, and most importantly, you need to stop thinking so much about your skate,” Yuri continued. “You know the moves. You now need to put in the emotion. This is a performance about love and I know you wanted a performance that would show more than just the love between your parents.”

Yuri tried hard not to gag at his last statement. It made since that the Russian katusdon offspring would have a cheesy theme this year like this.

“I know you want to show a different kind of love, one that you’ve never really shown before,” Yuri continued. “So you should really think about what love means to you and I want to see it in your skate.”

Ren nodded.

“Okay, why don’t you head out early today and get some rest,” Yuri nodded. “Come over my place tonight for dinner.”

“Really?” Ren smiled.

“Yeah, I’m sure with the competitions coming up, you and Omar haven’t hung out much recently,” Yuri said, turning around so Ren wouldn’t see his smirk. “Maybe he can help you figure out your program.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. With the amount of girlfriends Omar had gone through, there was no way that he knew anything about love.

\---

On a cool September afternoon, Ren and Omar drove in Ren’s car to Tatiana and Erik’s house. Erik was away in Moscow on a work trip and since Tatiana couldn’t take care of the cats’ litter box, given her pregnancy, Ren had offered to help out. Omar was just coming along to play with the cats for a little bit.

Ren knocked on the door, waiting for Tatiana to answer. He gave her a solid few minutes, assuming that it took her longer to walk given her rapid weight gain. However when she didn’t answer, Ren fished for the key in his pocket that Tatiana had given him in case she was not home. As they made their way in, the first of the cats greeted them. Omar immediately dropped to his knees to pet the cat.

“Tatiana?” Ren called out as he closed the door.

“Ren…?” came a weak voice from upstairs. “Is that you?”

Ren’s heart began racing. He ran up the stairs to Tatiana’s bedroom to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, gripping the sheets on either side of her. The shine of perspiration gleaned her forehead and her eyes were wide with worry.

“I’m so glad you’re here...I can’t move…It hurts too much,” she managed to say between breaths.

“What hurts?” Ren asked.

Tatiana pressed a hand against her belly. Ren’s eyes opened wide.

“But you’re not due for…”

“Another three weeks. I know,” Tatiana nodded. “But Katya wants to come out early. I’m pretty sure these contractions are real and they’re getting worse.”

“What’s going on?” Omar asked running into the room as well. He looked at Tatiana who groaned as another contraction hit her. “Oh shit…”

“Have you called Erik yet?” Ren asked.

Tatiana shook her head. “I didn’t want him worrying if this wasn’t real. Stupid mistake. By the time he gets back here…”

It was then she began crying. Ren quickly sat down next to her and began rubbing her lower back. Omar still stared in shock, unsure of what to do.

“What about Dad or Tousan?”

“Oh, god no!” Tatiana sighed with what sounded like a small chuckle. “Aunt Mari told me how ridiculous Dad was when we were all born. They are the last people I want to call right now.”

She covered her face with her hands. “This is horrible! I don’t have anyone to help me with this! No other women who could tell me what to do! Erik’s mom is dead. Our mom is in Japan. None of my friends have kids. I’m really all alone.”

“We’re right here, Tatiana,” Ren reminded her.

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M GOING THROUGH RIGHT! NOW THIS HURTS LIKE HELL!”

Omar took a step back in surprise. “Ren, we should get her to the hospital,” he suggested.

“You’re right,” Ren nodded. “Can you stay here with her? I’m gonna get her bag ready and call Erik. I’m sure he can get the next train up to St. Petersburg and still get here in time for the birth.”

“What if he doesn’t?!” Tatiana panicked. “What if I have to do this alone?”

“You’re not going to do this alone,” Ren assured her.

Omar switched places with Ren who ran downstairs. Omar hesitated before he began rubbing Tatiana’s lower back as she moaned through another contraction. Ren quickly called Erik who told him that Tatiana had already packed a bag and it was near the front door. He then informed him that he would be back at St. Petersburg as soon as he could.

Ren found the bag and then immediately called his parents, despite Tatiana’s wishes. Out of everyone in the family, his parents were the most familiar with how the birthing process went. Yuuri answered the phone and agreed to meet them at the hospital.

“Ren!” Omar cried out from upstairs.

Ren hung up the phone and ran back upstairs to find Tatiana standing in the middle of the room and Omar standing a good ten feet away from her. There was a darkening in her jeans around her crotch that was spreading.

“What’s going on?” Omar asked. “What’s wrong with her?!”

“My water broke,” Tatiana muttered. It was then followed by a string of explicatives as a new contraction hit her. Ren had to hold her up as she breathed and cried through it.

“Let’s get you changed and then we’re going to the hospital,” Ren said firmly.

They got to the hospital and Yuuri and Victor were there to meet them. Tatiana would have yelled at Ren for calling them but her contractions were too close together for her to care. Yuuri immediately wrapped his arms around his daughter.

“Chichi…” Tatiana cried. “It hurts so much.”

Yuuri felt his heart grow hearing Tatiana call him by a name she hadn’t used since she was a child.

“Come on, sweetheart. We’ll be with you and Erik is on his way,” he assured her. “Let’s go have a baby.”

“You aren’t doing anything!” Tatiana whined as she was wheeled toward her room.

“Why don’t you guys go to the cafeteria and get yourself something,” Victor suggested, handing Ren his credit card. “We’ll meet you in the waiting room when we have updates.”

Ren and Omar nodded, grateful that they did not have to be part of the actual birthing process. They had been scarred enough for the day as it was.

“I didn’t realize how painful labor was,” Ren said after they had gotten snacks and drinks and were in the family waiting room. “I just thought television dramatized it.”

Omar noticed with the cup of tea in his hands, Ren was trembling. He took the cup before it spilled and then held those hands.

“You did a great job, Ren,” he assured him. “You kept so much calmer than I did throughout that whole thing. I don’t even know how you were able to drive here without panicking.”

“It took a lot,” Ren admitted, a tear sliding down his cheek. “I’ve never seen my sister hurting like that.”

“Well, let’s be honest, we’ve been homeschooled and tutored since we were in middle school,” Omar shrugged. “It’s not like the whole childmaking and birthing process was on our curricula like kids who went to normal school.”

“I wish I knew about it though,” Ren sighed. “It terrified me.”

“Me, too. I knew about water breaking but I didn’t realize it was that much water coming out,” Omar admitted.

Ren chuckled. “You were so eager to get out of the room when her water broke, huh?”

“I was eager to get out of the room from the beginning,” Omar laughed. “I guess I should figure out how everything works if I wanna be a father someday.”

“Really? You want kids?”

Omar shrugged. “Not for a long time. After I retire from skating and settle down with a nice girl who actually is willing to stick around, then yes I’d love to have kids.”

“Hmmm…” Ren nodded.

“What about you?”

“Same kind of deal… I haven’t thought too much about it though because it’s not something I have to worry about for a while.”

“It’ll be more complicated for you,” Omar smirked. “It’s not like you and your future husband can just pop out a baby.”

Ren rolled his eyes.

Omar chuckled. “This settles it.”

“Settles what?”

“You’re gay.”

“Why are you still on that?” Ren groaned.

“Because you didn’t deny me when I said your future husband,” Omar winked. “Now I know your interests, I can start helping you out. I still think you should date another skater. What about Alexis Warshawsky?”

“Would you stop trying to hook me up with other people?” Ren rolled his eyes.

Omar smirked.

“To be honest, I don’t think much about relationships because my life is too busy skating,” Ren admitted. “You of all people should understand. You can’t keep a solid relationship because skating gets in the way.”

Omar’s smile immediately faded. “That’s cold, Nikiforov. Way to hit me where it hurts the most.”

They were interrupted by Victor coming into the waiting room a frown on his face. Omar and Ren immediately stood up to hear the updates.

“Everything’s okay,” Victor announced. “Tatiana just kicked me out of the room. She said I couldn’t sit still and it was driving her crazy. I can’t help that I’m so excited to see the baby! But Yuuri gets to stay. It’s so not fair.”

He sat down and crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. Omar and Ren sat down on either side of him. Omar offered his bag of cookies.

“Makes sense she would want Yuuri to stay. He’s her favorite dad,” Victor continued, taking a cookie. “Which is weird because she’s so much more like me.”

“Maybe that’s why you guys clash a lot,” Ren suggested. “Because you are too similar.”

They waited in the family waiting room for a few hours, Yuuri occasionally coming out to give them updates. Omar browsed the internet on his phone, checking out several dating websites. Ren watched a marathon on the television of a reality show. Victor paced across the room several times, wondering why things were taking so long.

“First time mothers tend to labor longer the nurse was telling me,” Yuuri explained when he came in with a new update. “But don’t worry. Ren and Omar brought her in at just the right time. She’s fully dilated and she just started pushing.”

“Katya isn’t here yet?”

The four men turned to the doorway of the waiting room to see Erik standing there, out of breath like he just ran there.

“Not yet,” Yuuri said. “She’s in room 703. She’ll be happy to see you.”

Erik nodded and headed out. Yuuri, Victor, Ren and Omar remained in the room, waiting for the next update.

About an hour later, Erik came back with a wide grin on his face.

“She’s here!” he said warmly. “And she’s perfect.”

“When can we see her?” Victor asked.

“They’re finishing cleaning Tatiana up and then moving her and the baby to the post delivery suite down the hall. That’s when we can see her,” Erik explained. He ran forward to embrace them all in a hug. “Thank you so much for taking care of her while I was away.”

“Of course,” Yuuri responded. “I’m so glad you got there to see the birth.”

“Katya was so excited to be born, she really wanted to come three weeks early,” Erik chuckled. “Neither Tatiana and I were expecting that.”

“So you’re naming her Katya?” Victor asked.

Erik nodded. “Katya Erikevna Sokolova.”

“It’s perfect,” Yuuri smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introduced the inspired music for some of the programs. Just because I don't have the music for them all doesn't mean you won't hear it at some point. I just didn't want to inundate the chapter with youtube links. Thank you so much for reading my fic and leaving kudos and comments.

_“And here we go the first of the six qualifying events for the Grand Prix finals, Skate America, here in Chicago, Illinois. The season is about to start off strong with some favorites returning and some new skaters that are sure to shake things up.”_

_“That’s right, let’s talk about the senior men’s division skaters. First off from Russia, we have Timofey Popovitch, age 20 and son of Georgi Popovitch. This will be his fourth year in the Grand Prix series, having done one year in the junior division and two previous years in the senior division. Unfortunately, he has never made his way to the podium at any event nor has qualified for the Grand Prix final. He chalks it up to lack of experience and is optimistic that this year will be different.”_

_“We look forward to seeing Popovitch this year. Next, we have Diego de la Iglesia representing the United States. At age 17, this is his first time in the senior division after winning bronze in the junior World’s last year. He says that he has programs similar in style to what his father, Leo de la Iglesia, used to perform in his skating prime, and looks forward to showing us all.”_

_“Let’s not forget Diego’s siblings will be competing this year as well. Ruben de la Iglesia, age 15, will be skating in the junior men’s division and Sara de la Iglesia, age 16, will be competing the junior women’s division this season. They are both here in Chicago to support their older brother.”_

_“It’s always fun to see siblings all in love with the same sport. Next, representing Thailand, we have Pravat Chulanant, age 25. You all know and love his father, Phitchit Chulanant, famous for the Phitchit on Ice skating show that is celebrating its 20 th anniversary this year. Pravat, who was the bronze medalist in last year’s Grand Prix Final has one goal and it’s to get a gold medal. He also announced that this would be his final year of skating and will be retiring after the Grenoble Olympics to take over his father’s skating show.”_

_“Well, we hope to see some amazing things from Chulanant this year as he finishes strong. Next we have Jacoby Thomas, also representing the United States and native of Chicago, excited to compete at his home rink. At 19 years old, Jacoby is excited to make his Grand Prix debut. Let’s see if he has the home field advantage.”_

_“There has been some controversy about letting Jacoby compete in this rink with that advantage but Thomas has reported that he doesn’t let negative press stop him. He’s putting on a strong front and has plans to win regardless of what rink he skates at.”_

_“Next, also from Russia, we have Ren Nikiforov, age 23. Everyone who knows figure skating knows that name. Since his senior debut at age 16, Ren has had more than his fair share of gold, silver and bronze medals. As always, we eagerly wait to see what he and rival, Omar Altin of Russia, are going to put on for a performance. Every year they just seem to grow and amaze us all.”_

_“Well, that’s what you’d expect from the sons of some of the greatest figure skaters of all time. Nikiforov’s coach, Yuri Plisetsky, along with his parents, Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov are here to support the Russian prodigy. Young Nikiforov announced that his theme this year is on the love and celebration of his parents. That’s so precious, isn’t it?”_

_“I’m always looking forward to what young Ren Nikiforov is going to surprise us with next. Finally, we have Taiyang Ji, of China, age 18, here with his father, and coach, Guanghong Ji. This is Taiyang’s second Grand Prix series and he is looking forward to trying to qualify for the final this year, especially after last year’s upset.”_

_“So live here in Chicago, Illinois, we have the first event of the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Series, what is sure to be an exciting season. Tomorrow night kicks off the men’s short program. We hope you are as excited to see it as we are.”_

__

\---

“YUURI!”

“PHICHIT!”

In the hotel lobby, the two best friends immediately ran to each other and embraced. Bystanders recognized the two famous former competitive skaters and immediately began taking pictures.

“Hey wait!” Phichit muttered, pulling his own phone from his pocket. “We need to get our own pic or it didn’t happen.”

Yuuri laughed as Phichit snapped the selfie. Even though they were aging, their friendship had not changed a bit. They both had greying hair and had gained weight and a few wrinkles now that they were in their fifties, but every time they met up, it was like they were in college again. They were able to just pick up where they left off.

Meanwhile, their sons stood awkwardly behind them. Ren and Pravat did not get along so well, as much as their fathers wanted them to. Pravat did not like how Ren was always beating him in competition and making it look easy. Ren did not like how Pravat was so serious and focused on winning that he never tried to have any fun. They watched as their fathers continued chatting excitedly, ignoring them.

“So, I hear this is going to be your last year?” Ren began.

Pravat nodded. “My father is getting too old to be able to skate in his show and really needs to have me step up. Competitive skating is only a short period of one’s lifetime. This is something more practical that I can do the rest of my life. And I have plans to take Pitchit on Ice to further places than just Southeast Asia. I want it to travel the world.”

“That sounds like a wonderful dream,” Ren said with a small smile.

Pravat frowned at him. “It won’t be a dream. It’s a reality. And in order to put my name on the international market, I need to win this year. I’m tired of coming in third behind you and that Altin brat. So you better watch out.”

Ren’s smile immediately disappeared. “Right, sounds good.”

“Okay guys, Phichit and I are going out for drinks. You guys wanna join?” Yuuri asked.

“I can’t go,” Pravat sighed. “Drinking age in the States, remember?”

“Oh right,” Phichit frowned. “Well, why don’t you guys have fun together and catch up. We’ll see you later.”

The two older men linked arms and made their way out, laughing and chatting. Pravat groaned.

“I’m gonna go to my room. I’m sure you are not interested in catching up,” he said. “We’ll see plenty of each other this season.”

Ren nodded his head as he watched Pravat leave.

\---

The night of the men’s free skate was about to begin. Ren skated around the rink for his warm up, watching as the other skaters were doing the same. After Pravat, Ren was the oldest skater competing here. His body had long since finished growing and he had adjusted to the changes. His style had changed as well. It was so strange to see the younger skaters practicing spins, lifting their legs, and arching their backs with such flexibility that he had since lost. However, he had the advantage of strength and his jumps proved it.

He skated faster to be able to launch himself into a quad toe loop. He usually did not do quad jumps during warmup, for fear of falling would mess up his mentality for the skate. But today he felt confident.

The feeling as his feet left the air was natural. He was flying as he spun around, one, two, three, four. He landed on his skate and flared his body out. He could hear the applause from the audience and could not help but grin widely. The nerves he was having were calming as he heard the audience cheer for him. He had a pretty strong fan following in his career and it was nice to have all the support.

“Show off,” Pravat muttered as he skated past Ren.

Ren rolled his eyes. He just wanted to get along with the Thai skater for once but there was too much history between the two of them that it was never going to happen. He watched as Pravat skated faster and then launched himself into a quad lutz, getting louder applause from the audience. Ren groaned as Timofey skated up close to him.

“Don’t let Chulanant get to you,” he said as they skated side by side. “Save it for the actual competition and then we’ll kick his ass.”

Ren nodded with a smile and high fived his rinkmate. He then made his way off the ice as the buzzer announcing that warm up was over sounded. Yuri was waiting for him with his skate guards. Ren put them on and headed out of the rink. He was skating fifth so he had lots of time before it was his turn. He found a spot by a TV so he could watch his competition while he continued to stretch.

Timofey was still on the rink preparing for his short program. Victor was standing on the side of the rink watching intensely as his student began his short program. Timofey went with an orchestrated ballad for his short program, which was no surprise. He always had the same style of music and the same style of skate, filled with his favorite jump, the triple lutz. Ren sat on the ground, legs spread apart and leaned forward so his elbows were on the ground and propping his head up to watch the TV. He sighed, feeling like this performance was the same as the one he did last year. He was surprised that a skater trained by his own father would do the same sort of thing every year. That was just not how Victor did things.

And apparently the judges felt the same way. Timofey’s score of 85.34 was only two points higher than what he had gotten last year. Sitting at the kiss and cry with Yuri who looked disappointed and Victor who had his finger to his lips, Timofey looked upset. Victor then leaned over and whispered something in his ear which seemed to perk him up a little.

Diego de la Iglesia was next to skate, he shook his hands as if to shake off the anxiety of skating in an international competition for the first time. He was the rising star in the United States but this was the bigger leagues. He had a lot riding on his shoulders. His younger siblings were on the sides, holding up signs for him. Diego was wearing an oversized hooded shirt with the sleeves cut off, exposing his sides and tight sparkling pants. The [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4FdAEev26Q) began. 

 _“Right so Diego de la Iglesia of the United States starts off his short program in his Grand Prix debut,_ ” the announcer said over the television. _“He has two quads planned for this program and what he calls a rather unique step sequence.”_

_“Here comes the first quad, a toe loop. And…. He landed it!”_

Diego looked quite pleased with himself as he continued skating around, raising his arms in excitement as the crowds applauded. The program continued until he got up to his step sequence. In the middle of the rink, he seemed to have abandoned ice skating all together and began what looked like a hip hop routine. His shoulders popped, his hips rolled. The crowed gasped as he tried something completely new that had not been seen on the ice since his own father, Leo de la Iglesia did decades ago. Only this time was different, it was full on hip hop dancing on ice to go with the rapping that came through the speakers.

“Staring is so unbecoming of you. Calm down, Nikiforov.”

Ren did not notice that he was staring at the TV with his mouth open until Pravat grabbed his attention. He quickly closed his mouth and started at the Thai skater. He was pulling his jacket off, revealing his costume, a beautiful white costume with a sequenced sash. His hair was gelled up to the side. He looked absolutely stunning. Ren felt his face go hot.

“G-good luck,” he stammered.

Pravat nodded and walked past Ren to go to the rink. Diego had just finished and got his score of 102.43, getting a nearly perfect presentation score. Pravat then got onto the ice to begin his performance. It was then that Yuri appeared and guided Ren away from the screens for a pep talk.

“So this is a new season and as you can see, you’ve got some good competition ahead of you,” he began. “You’re at your prime, Ren. I expect nothing but the best from you.”

Ren nodded.

“You’ve been working nonstop the past few months and it’s all lead up to this. This is just the beginning but you gotta go out there and skate flawlessly. You’ve got my name attached to this program. I expect you do me proud.”

“Of course.”

“And I expect that you skate in a way that really shows your love for skating. Your theme is all about love after all,” Yuri added, trying hard not too look nauseated by it.

Ren nodded. “Got it Yura.”

_“And Pravat Chulanant’s short program score is 100.45. He is currently in second place!”_

_“Not his personal best, but that one fall during his quad loop really affected his mentality the rest of the short program. But he’s still got plenty of room to improve. It’s only the beginning of the season after all.”_

_“I’m sure he has every intention to make his last season his best. Well, next on the ice is Chicago native, Jacoby Thomas. You can hear the crowd cheering loudest for him. A lot of pride for the windy city. Let’s see if Jacoby can really get the home field advantage.”_

Yuri scoffed. “They would never let us compete at St. Petersburg’s rink. I don’t know why the ISU is letting Thomas compete in his own home rink.”

“I’m not worried,” Ren smirked. “He’ll need a home field advantage if he wants to beat Russia.”

Yuri grinned. “That’s the fighting spirit I like, Ren. Don’t use the fact that this is your first competition of the season be an excuse to slack off. Leave it all on the ice.”

“You know it, Yura.”

The two men shook hands and Ren took off his jacket, revealing his costume, a blue jacket with a sequence design around it, revealing a thinner mesh around his waist. His pants were blue as well. Yuri rolled his eyes.

“I can’t believe you convinced me to let you wear the Katsudon’s old costume for this. But, man, you look even more like him wearing it. It really does take me back…” he added with a smile on his face.

Ren smiled and ran his fingers through his hair so it was out of his face. He clipped it back with a couple bobbi pins. Yuri finished the look with lots of hairspray. Then Ren was ready to go. He made his way outside with Yuri to meet Timofey and Victor who were waiting on the side of the rink for him. Timofey nodded to his rink mate and Victor jumped forward to give his son a hug.

“You look absolutely beautiful, Ren. Go out there and show them what you’re made of.”

“This is all for you, Dad,” Ren responded. “You and Tousan.”

_“I guess home field advantage is not a thing. Jacoby Thomas scores 76.98 putting him in fourth place.”_

_“Nerves can really make a difference. But maybe we will see a comeback. It’s still early enough. And next we have Ren Nikiforov of Russia.”_

_“You can hear the cheers of the crowd being just as loud for Nikiforov as they were for Thomas. And it makes sense. Nikiforov is a household name in the skating world, no matter where you’re from. We’re excited to see what young Ren has in store for us this year.”_

Ren skated to the middle of the rink, letting the sounds of the crowd die out as white noise. He spun around and got into his starting pose, one leg behind him, one arm curved in front of him and one arm curved upwards. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, pretending he was holding someone in his arms and was about to start the dance. And that was when the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCnAtl_dnRg) started.

_“This year Ren’s program is a piece called ‘On Love- Philia,’ a new arrangement of his father Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov’s short program 30 years ago. Nikiforov’s theme this year is love and he wanted to celebrate the love between his parents, Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov.”_

_“What a great son he is. I wish my son would skate a program dedicated to me!”_

Ren spun around, swinging his imaginary partner as the song built up. He spun away as to let his partner skate on their own but quickly reached out to take them back. He then began skating faster around the rink as he began a jump combination.

_“Triple lutz, single loop, triple salchow. Nice! Very clean!”_

Ren moved into the step sequence, his arms in front of him as if they were grasping someone else’s and they skated down the rink together. He then let go of his imaginary partner again and went into a spin sequence. The audience applauded. Ren then moved into the second half of the performance as the song picked up energy.

_“And here comes the second of three quads, the quad toe loop. And he nailed it! We wouldn’t expect anything less of Ren Nikoforov.”_

Ren stretched back into an Ina Baur as the music slowed down just a moment and that was his few seconds to catch his breath before he finished up his program. The music began to speed up so he grabbed his imaginary partner again and began pulling them around the rink, spinning and grinning widely. He then let go of his partner just in time to take off with his quad flip. The crowd went wild as he landed it perfectly. Very few people were able to land a quad flip this late in a program but as a Nikiforov, he knew it was his duty to do so. He then skated to the middle of the rink where he found his partner again and spun around until the music stopped abruptly. And so did he, with one arm out to the audience and the other clutching his heart.

And that was when the crowd exploded. Yuuri, from the audience, was in pure tears. Victor covered his mouth with his hand but his eyes were watering. Even Yuri had felt a little something in his eye. He was pretty sure it was just dust.

_“Amazing! What a beautiful display of love from Ren Nikiforov! You could just imagine him pair skating, couldn’t you?”_

_“I’m still in awe. Every year he continues to amaze us.”_

Ren skated over to the edge of the rink where Victor and Yuri were waiting. He put on his skate guards and followed them to the kiss and cry to receive his score. His mouth opened wide as he saw what it was.

_“110.45! A new personal best! This puts Nikiforov in first place!”_

His father and his couch both smothered him with a huge hug.

“I knew you could do it, Ren. You were amazing,” Victor said.

“I’m so proud of you. You can only go up from here,” Yuri added.

_“And last to skate, we have Taiyang Ji of China. After his injury during last year’s Grand Prix series, he did not qualify, but after lots of physical therapy, he is hoping to make this year different.”_

Ren was too busy talking to reporters to be able to see Tiayang’s performance.

“So Ren, what are your goals for this year’s season?” one reporter asked.

“Well, it’s as always to win the gold, but this year it’s more important for me to focus on Grenoble as an ultimate goal.”

“Who do you think is going to be the winner this year between you and Omar Altin?” another reporter asked.

Ren laughed. “I haven’t seen Omar’s programs yet but I’m sure they’ll be great. Of course, I have every intention to beat him.”

“Do you think the real challenge is going to be Dmitri Altin?”

“I won’t know until I compete against him at the NHK trophy, which I’m sure you’re all looking forward to,” Ren said, turning away. “That’s it for questions.”

This was the one part of the competition that he always hated, being the center of attention for questions. Especially when the questions started to get personal.

“Mr. Nikiforov, was there any special lady you were thinking about when you were skating that waltz?”

Ren froze. He wasn’t really thinking of any girls he knew when he skated. He really wasn’t thinking of anyone in particular if he had to be honest. He glanced over his shoulder at the reporter, not wanting to start something that would end up on the tabloid magazines.

“No, I was not imagining anyone in particular,” he admitted. “You do know that _philia_ means brotherly love, right? There’s no girl in my life.”

He then walked away to hear the final results of the short program.

_“Well this has been a great start to the skating season. Later this evening we will have the senior women’s short program. But first let’s look at the men’s current standings.”_

_“In sixth place we have Jacoby Thomas of the United States. In fifth place, it’s Timofey Popovitch of Russia. In fourth place, it’s Pravat Chulanant of Thailand. Third place goes to Diego de la Iglesia from the United States. Second place is Ren Nikiforov of Russia. And in first place with a score of 112.84 is Taiyang Ji of China.”_

“What?!” Ren shouted, though his voice was muted by the applause for the Chinese skater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diego's Short Program: Unconditional Love - Tupac  
> Ren's Short Program: On Love ~Eros~ A Waltz for Viktor and Yuri - finanwenpiano on youtube  
> \----  
> Follow me on tumblr: thelureofadream  
> And anyone who is 34323278237 times better than me at art feel free to contact me for pics to go with this story.


	6. Chapter 6

Ren was lying on his back in his hotel room. He was used to being beaten by Omar on occasion but he hadn’t been beaten by a foreign skater since he was 17 years old. His performance had been perfect so he could not have scored much higher than he did during his short program. Of that he was sure. So what did he have to do to ensure that he got gold at this competition? 

He tried to remember what Taiyang was like in competition the year before. He had been injured while practicing in the middle of the season, a broken tibia if Ren recalled, and had to quit in the middle of competition. How could he not only heal but also improve to the point where he was tough competition for the Russian skater? 

Ren pulled out his tablet and looked for Taiyang’s programs from the previous year, before he was injured. They had never competed against each other so he had never thought to look into it before. It turned out that Taiyang was actually very good, scoring gold at last year’s Trophee de France. Ren’s eyes opened wide, he had been so focused on his and Omar’s rivalry, that he never paid attention to other skaters. 

Now that he was getting older, Ren could feel that his body did not tolerate skating as much as it used to. He was surprised Tatiana was able to skate until the age of 27. He was not sure if his own body would last that long, given the strain he put himself through. It took him longer to get up after falling. It took him longer to recover from sprains. His parents always warned him about aging in the skating world came up quick and now he was realizing it. Taiyang was 18 years old, six years younger than Ren, and still had a long way to go. 

Ren then switched to a video of Taiyang’s short program performed just hours prior. He had missed it due to all the interviewers, but now he had a chance to see it. Taiyang had chosen a [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWlqXG1TXwQ) that began simple, just a single instrument, but with a quad loop, he landed just as the music suddenly exploded into a beautiful orchestra. And Taiyang was beautiful as he skated. Ren had tears in his eyes as he saw the story of a child in war trying to stay alive so he could come home. But as the music quieted down, Taiyang spun around and slid onto his knees, falling to the side as if he had died. 

The brave soldier never made it home…

By that point, Ren could not stop crying. The emotions were thick and Taiyang was able to play them out well. Ren read the summary underneath, which said Taiyang’s theme this year was “war and pain.” It was very clear. He bit his lip, knowing exactly why Taiyang had chosen this theme. His home country was in the midst of a civil war. He was probably able to skate so passionately because he had a personal connection to what was going on. It was even more amazing that his country would let him skate even with the events back home. 

“He really wants to win for China,” Ren whispered, wiping the tear that fell down his cheek. 

\---

_“And now it is time for the free skate portion of the senior men’s division here at Skate America. First up we have Jacoby Thomas of the United States. He said he let the nerves get the best of him during the short program but he is better prepared for his free skate. And we look forward to it._ ”

His blond hair slicked back this time and wearing a red costume just as sparkly as his short program, Jacoby skated to the middle of the rink, arms spread wide as he greeted his audience. 

Meanwhile backstage, Ren saw Taiyang jogging in place, trying to keep his muscles warmed up, and walked over to him. 

“Hey, great job the other day,” Ren began with a smile. 

Taiyang stopped jogging and looked at Ren. “Thanks so much,” he responded, smiling back. “I didn’t know you saw the skate.”

“Honestly I didn’t until after the competition when I saw it online,” Ren admitted. “But it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.”

“I wish my people back home could see it,” Taiyang sighed. “But I doubt the government would let them see any international television. Who knows? I haven’t been there in three years.”

Since the civil war had started. 

“Where are you training?” Ren asked. 

“In Salt Lake City,” Taiyang explained. “My dad and Diego’s dad are long time friends so he took us in when we left. Even though we skate for different countries, Diego and I skate at the same rink.” 

“I didn’t realize you guys knew each other so well. You’ve barely looked at each other during the competition.”

Taiyang chuckled. “That’s because Diego is so nervous and focused on the competition. While he’s here, he’s in all out skating mode. He’s a lot more interactive when he’s outside of the rink.

“But it’s nice to have the de la Iglesias here at the rink with my dad and I. They’ve become my family,” Taiyang continued, his face growing somber. “I wish my mom was able to watch me skate.”

Ren did not ask what happened to Taiyang’s mother. He just stepped forward and wrapped Taiyang in a huge hug. 

“I’m sure she’s proud of you,” he said softly. “But it doesn’t mean I’m gonna go easy on your this competition. I wanna see you skate your best.”

Taiyang perked up. “You got it, Ren! May the best man win!”

“And I hope to see you at the final too!” Ren added. 

After wishing Taiyang luck again, Ren ran out to the rink where Timofey was standing between Victor and Yuri, ready for his free skate. His long black hair was now in a bun in the back of his head and he was wearing a black jacket with coattails and a bowtie over his white button up shirt. His black pants had two stripes of sequence down the sides. In his hand, he held a conductor’s wand. It was no surprise that Timofey was doing another classic orchestral piece. 

Ren shook his rinkmate’s hand and wished him luck before he went out into the rink. Jacoby Thomas’ score shone on the screens overhead and Ren knew he could easily beat it. He smiled and looked down at Timofey who was now in the middle of the rink, conductor’s wand raised. 

The music this time was a little different. It sounded ominous as Timofey lowered his wand. The sound of wind, thunder, and rain filled the rink as the music began. It made Ren shiver as bells chimed. And that was when the electric guitar began to play and Timofey began his skate in earnest. 

It was classical orchestra music again, _In the Hall of the Mountain King._ But this version was different, with electric guitars and drums and pianos, and so much more energy. No violins or brass could be heard. The song sped up and so did Timofey, spinning and jumping in a way that no one had ever seen from him before. Ren clasped his hands over his mouth in surprise and he could hear Victor laughing next to him. 

“What did you expect? Any student of mine is bound to have some sort of surprise in store,” he winked. “And look! The crowds love it!” 

Indeed the crowd was screaming and Russian flags were waving. Ren looked on in pride at Timofey who clearly showed in his face how much fun he was having. He finished of his program with a combination spin sequence before ending his final pose, conductor’s wand in the air. 

And then the crowd roared. Stuffed animals and flowers were thrown into the rink as Timofey skated over to the side, his hair loosening from its bun and his clothes disheveled, but with a bright smile on his face. Victor was waiting for him, his arms wide.

“I’m so proud of you, Timofey! That was your best skate yet!” 

“Thanks Victor,” Timofey grinned. “It was all because of you. We sure surprised the audience this time.”

“You really did,” Ren smiled. 

He watched as his rinkmate, father, and coach went over to the kiss and cry to reveal Timofey’s scores. A new personal best of 189.43 put him in first place. Ren cheered for his friend. 

Pravat was up next. The camera turned to his father, Pitchit, who was sitting in the audience with Yuuri. A projection was shown on the screens above the rink. When they both realized they were on camera, Yuuri blushed but Pitchit laughed, holding up a peace sign. He then wrapped his arm around Yuuri who put up a peace sign as well, nervous smile on his face. He was not expected to be the subject of attention during this competition since he was staying in the audience the whole time. 

Pravat took a deep breath and got into his opening pose. As soon as the music started, the audience roared. They all knew the song that was playing. 

“ _As many had speculated, Chulanant is using the theme song from his father’s “Pitchit on Ice” skating show. Chulanant has said in many of his interviews that this will be his final season and that he would be dedicating himself to the skating show. It only makes sense that he would be using this season as a way to promote the show.”_

_“And look at Phichit Chulanant in the audience now. You could see his excitement and his tears of joy. He must be proud of his son.”_

_“Chulanant has qualified for the Grand Prix Final a total of five times since his senior debut but has never achieved higher than a bronze medal. He is hoping that this year will allow him to retire with a bang.”_

_“And so far, he’s looking great. Look at that quad lutz! Excellent form! Very clean!”_

Pravat absolutely glowed under the spotlight. His turns and jumps were perfect. One could really see his love and passion for skating as he continued into the second half of his free program. A huge smile was on his face as he went into a combination spin. He knew that he would be performing this a few more times before her retirement and then it would all be over. He wanted to be sure he made the most of every second of this experience. When he retired, he knew he would miss this, though he would not miss all the painstaking preparation that came with training for international competitions. He knew he would miss, however, the cheer of the audience as he performed at his peak. And that was what he was doing as he finished his free skate, his final pose a proud fist in the air. 

The audience screamed for the Thai skater. He bowed as he was showered in flowers and stuffed animals. He managed to pick up one stuffed penguin before skating to the side of the rink where his coach was waiting for him. Ren bit his lower lip, knowing the score would be high for sure.

And it was. With a score of 199.45, Pravat was now in first place. Ren let out a breath of relief. It was not an unreachable score to beat, but it was going to be a tough one. His performance had to be perfect. 

Yuri came up to him just then and put an arm on his shoulder. Ren already knew what he was going to say. 

“We’re taking the double axel out of your program and switching it for a triple lutz. That’ll give you more points and you’re more likely to make it,” he said simply. 

Ren sighed but knew it was true. He had fought so hard to get the axel in his free skate, claiming that the competition would motivate him to make the jump, but he was not about to take the risk this time. Plus his triple lutz would have a higher base value. 

He would just have to work on his axels more a little later.

Ren left the rink so he could go warm up more and stretch properly. He was going on soon. He watched Diego’s free skate on the television while he stretched. It was not long until he was called to go to the rink for his own free skate. He took off his jacket and headed back to the rink. 

He did not hear Diego’s score but he knew he was placed second. That meant that it was only Pravat’s score he had to beat, and Taiyang’s score he’d have to worry about. He could not afford to make any mistakes. 

_“And next up, from Russia, we have Ren Nikiforov, 24 years old. His theme this year is on love and for his free skate, he will be skating to ‘Hallelujah.’”_

Ren wrapped himself with his arms as if he were hugging himself and waited for the music to begin.When it did begin he let his arms stretch out and then up above him, trying to feel the voices of the singers fill him. He loved this particular arrangement, one that was a capella. It was much more somber and it allowed him to tell a story of the pain that came with love. It was Yuri’s idea to go with a story like this, to counter his free skate that showed the joys of love. 

What Ren struggled the most with this performance was that he had never been in love, so he could never truly understand the joy or the pain that came with love. He looked to his parents and to his sister and brother-in-law for inspiration. They showed him the joys. He looked at Omar and his many girlfriends and she saw the pain. 

_I wish Omar could see the joys of love, too._

The music began to build up as he moved into the second half and so did Ren’s passion. He imagined he was Omar and thought of all his heartbreak, of not having someone who was willing to accept all of him. Omar deserved someone who would stick by his side. All Ren wanted for his best friend was for him to find love that made him happy like their fathers had. Like Tatiana and Erik had. 

Then came the part where he was supposed to do the double axel, which was now changed to a triple lutz. Ren nearly forgot it was changed last minute, thanks to muscle memory. But luckily he was able to spin around so he could prepare himself for the triple jump, hopefully making it look seamless. 

_“Triple lutz. Great landing there!”_

He then skated forward with his leg stretched behind him in arabesque. He went into a passionate step sequence, the only one of the performance, as he made his way back to the center of the stage to do a spinning combination which would end the performance. As the song slowed down to the end, the voices humming the tune, he stopped and reached up to the air, as if calling for a deity for love.

And then it was over. All those months of pain and fatigue came down to this performance that finished faster than he could perceive it. The rest of his senses came back and he could hear the roar of the audience to his ears. He could see his breath in front of him as he panted. He let his arms fall and could feel the ache in all his muscles from pushing himself. 

_“This might very well be his season. Give it up for Ren Nikiforov!”_

Ren bowed before heading off the rink to Yuri who looked at him with crossed arms and a small smirk on his face. That was enough for Ren to know that Yuri was pleased. 

And the scores showed as well. Ren had earned a new personal best, scoring 205.43 and putting him in first place. He just now had to hope that Taiyang would not beat that.

_“Next we have Taiyang Ji from China. His free skate will be an original song titled “For My Mother.”_

Ren gasped. Taiyang had told him that he had no contact with his mother since he and his father left China. He was not even sure if his mother was able to watch wherever she was. He wanted to watch but Yuri was quickly ushering him away to talk to reporters. He did not know until later that Taiyang fell on his first jump and it messed up his concentration, causing him to flub the rest of his jumps and bring his score down low. 

“Nikiforov, come back onto the rink for the medals,” someone shouted. 

Ren turned away from a reporter asking him unnecessary details about how his free skate had something to do with his personal life and headed back out to the rink, fully expecting to get the silver medal. However when his eyes looked up onto the final score board, he was shocked. 

_First place, Ren Nikiforov_

_Second, Pravat Chulanant_

_Third, Taiyang Ji_

_Fourth, Diego de la Iglesia_

_Fifth, Timofey Popovitch_

_Sixth, Jacoby Thomas_

“What happened to Taiyang?” Ren asked as Victor pushed him onto the ice. 

“No questions now, get your gold medal, Ren!” he called out, beaming.

It seemed like a whirlwind. The medal was placed over his head and rested on his shoulders. To his left, Taiyang was holding a bronze medal and trying his best not to cry. Pravat had a sour look on his face. The next thing he knew, they were ushered off the ice for pictures. Ren tried to smile for the pictures, but for some reason he felt like he did not deserve this gold medal this time.

He saw Taiyang again in the locker room just after he changed back into regular clothes. Taiyang looked at him for a moment, sadness in his eyes, and then kept walking. 

“Hey wait…”

Taiyang sighed. “I should have expected this. Even when I had a chance at the gold, there is no way I could win against you or Pravat. You guys are skating in honor of your parents and you don’t let the emotions get to you.”

“But we don’t have the same story as you, Taiyang,” Ren responded. “I think it’s amazing that you are able to skate for your mother when that must be very difficult to think about her. I’m sure she’s very proud of you though.”

Taiyang sniffed. Ren grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. 

“Listen to me, Taiyang. You need to make me a promise. We will skate again against each other at the Grand Prix Final and I wanna see you give it all you got.”

Taiyang gave a small smile. “Fine. And I fully intend to beat you next time.”

The two shook hands before Taiyang left. It was then Timofey walked up to Ren and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“You should be careful about what you wish for,” he said softly. “I know you didn’t get a chance to see his skate, but I think if he was in the right headspace, he could have come pretty close to beating you.”

“That’s what I want,” Ren responded. “I want competition besides Omar. I want a challenge.”

“Wait?” Timofey gasped, feigning shock. “You mean I’m not your competition?”

Ren laughed. “I loved your free skate, Timofey. I wanna see you take it to the next level. This is a new year and a new you and it’s awesome.”

“Thanks man,” Timofey grinned. “Come on, let’s go to the hotel room. Maybe you can buy us some booze since apparently I’m too young to buy it here.”

“Okay I’ll get some on the way,” Ren agreed, wrapping his arm around his rinkmate as the two of them headed out. 

\---

Omar was waiting for Ren at the airport when he landed in St. Petersburg. Otabek and Yuri gave their son a hug and went to go collect their bags. They knew it was Ren that Omar was here to see. Ren put his bags down and held up the gold medal that was still around his neck with a smile on his face. Omar frowned.

He punched Ren in the arm. “I expected better from you, Nikiforov. Don’t get me all panicked again like you did with that short program.I wasn’t even sure if you would get a gold in the end. I want to be sure to face you in the finals. You should be getting nothing but the top scores, you hear?”

Ren rubbed his arm as Omar took off to be with his parents. That was a pretty warm welcome relatively speaking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taiyang's Short Program: Leaves From The Vine, Orchestral Version - Avatar: The Last Airbender


	7. Chapter 7

Omar looked way too relaxed on the flight to Japan. Ren was envious at the skater who had already won gold at both the Cup of China and the Rostelecom Cup, he was already guaranteed a spot in the Grand Prix Final. He was only joining them on the trip to Tokyo to support Dmitri in his second qualifying event. Omar also cheekily mentioned he might also be rooting a little bit for Ren.

“I’m not sure who I want to win more. You should be able to qualify no matter where you are on the podium,” he said. “So at least I’ll be facing both of you guys.”

“Thanks for your support,” Ren replied dryly.

The other two skaters who had guaranteed their spots in the final were Pravat, from Thailand, and Elias Giacometti from Switzerland. Three spots were still available and there were four skaters going to the NHK trophy who were likely to get them.

“Are you really coming to support us or are you scoping out the competition?” Ren asked, eyebrows raised.

Omar grinned but did not respond.

\---

_“Let’s do a quick recap of where things have been going with the Grand Prix Series on the eve before the last qualifying event. This certainly has ben an interesting season for all skaters involved but only six can go to the finals. Let’s start off by talking about the men’s singles.”_

_“At Skate America, we had Ren Nikiforov of Russia taking gold, followed by Pravat Chulanant of Thailand and Taiyang Ji of China. It was rather emotional performace we saw from Ji, particularly his free skate which was dedicated to his mother.”_

_“At Skate Canada, we saw equally passionate performance. Christopher McGee of the United States put on fantastic programs, giving him a bronze. He was beaten by Elias Giacometti of Switzerland, who placed silver, and Dmitri Altin of Russia who placed gold.”_

_“We were blown away by Altin’s performances. It’s hard to believe he is only fifteen years old. But what more to expect from the last year’s junior Grand Prix champion?”_

_“We always expect the best from Altins. His older brother, Omar, scored gold at the Cup of China. It’ll be interesting to see the two brothers compete against each other in the final—”_

_“Well we don’t know yet if they will compete against each other in the finals since Dmitri still has to compete in the NHK trophy.”_

_“Pravat Chulanant, Thailand, took his second silver and Natsuo Minami of Japan took bronze. Chulanant was the first one to qualify for the finals. Of course, this was to be expected. Chulanant has been qualifying for finals for years.”_

_“But he’s never beaten either of the top skaters from Russia, Nikiforov or Altin. And now we have a new Altin to worry about.”_

_“We shouldn’t be speculating so much yet.”_

_“At the Trophée de France, Jean-Jacques Leroy Jr of Canada took gold. Timofey Popovitch of Russia surprised us all with an amazing free program, landing him in second place, and in third came Taiyang Ji, Canada. It seemed like his program, like Popovitch’s, had improved greatly since Skate America.”_

_“Unfortunately, it is very likely that neither Popovitch nor Ji will qualify for the final. Though, we haven’t seen what will happen here in Tokyo.”_

_“At the Rostelecom Cup, Omar Altin of Russia, once again, amazed the audience and took a second gold. He was followed by Elias Giacometti, Switzerland, with a silver and Diego de la Iglesia of the United States with a bronze. Altin and Giacometti qualified for the finals as well.”_

_“Now in Tokyo, Japan, we have the last qualifying event of the Grand Prix Series this season, the NHK Trophy. This competition will determine who will fill the last three spots for the finals in London._

_“From Russia, we have Ren Nikiforov, age 24. At Skate America he made us all believe in true love again with his amazing short program and free skate, winning him a gold. His theme this season is on love and it is very clear that his love shines when he skates.”_

_“From Japan, there is Ichiro Yoshida, age 19. He came in fourth at the Cup of China so he will have to score second or higher for a chance to make it to the finals. This is his first grand prix series and has said that he has enjoyed his experience so far.”_

_“Next, we have Teo Nekola of Italy, age 19. He scored fifth at the Cup of China, just after Yoshida, but he hopes to change it this competition.”_

_“You all know Nekola’s parents, Emil and Sara Nekola, former Grand Prix skaters in their day. Sara Nekola has had her fair share of golds and silvers during her career and her son plans to continue that tradition. This is his third Grand Prix series.”_

_“His younger brother, Luka, is also competing in the Grand Prix series for the first time this year. The two have said that they wish each other the best but they do not deny that there is a rivalry between the two of them that started since they were younger.”_

_“Speaking of siblings, next we have Dmitri Altin, age 15, of Russia. He is one of another sibling set competing in the Grand Prix, with his older brother Omar. It’s no secret that Altin is the favorite to win, trying to repeat the history his father, Yuri Plisetsky made decades ago. If Dmitri wins the Grand Prix Final, it will be the second time that a fifteen year old and first time senior Grand Prix competitor had won, after Plisetsky.”_

_“And it’s certainly possible. He’s been undefeated since he debuted in the junior series three years ago. Next from Japan is Natsuo Minami, age 20. Having placed third at the Cup of China puts him in a good place to potentially qualify for the finals, which would be a first for him. His older sister, Misa, along with her partner Takeshi Hanyuu, have already qualified for the finals in pair skating. Minami hopes to join them in London.”_

_“Finally, we have everybody’s favorite, Jean-Jacques Leroy, Jr. of Canada, age 26. Having won gold at the Trophée de France, he is a leading contender for a spot in the finals. After coming so close to the podium last year, he is really hoping that his increase in experience at his fifth Grand Prix Series. There had been rumors that this was the skater’s last year but he has put them to rest, stating that he will skate at least another year or two as long as his body holds up.”_

_“I certainly hope so. Leroy’s skating style is unique and fun and you can tell he loves what he does. The whole family truly does. Louise Leroy will be competing in the senior women’s division for the finals. Adele unfortunately did not qualify this year. Young Margot Leroy is a favorite to win Junior Women’s this year.”_

_“Seriously, what is in the Leroy gene pool, with so much talent from this family?”_

Jr Leroy groaned as he turned away from the television in the hotel lobby, which, of course, was broadcasting a segment where announcers talking about the NHK trophy that was going to take place the next day. He did not really want to watch that but it was the only thing that was on in English at the time. He could not understand Japanese if his life depended on it. Thankfully he had some friends who could speak it.

“Jr!”

He smiled. Speak of the devil…

Ren, Omar, and Piotr came out of the elevator to join Jr. Piotr and Jr hugged.

“It’s great to see you,” he said to his friend. “I hope you don’t mind my brother and Omar tagging along.”

“That’s fine,” Jr said with a smile. “The more the merrier. Plus, Ren also speaks Japanese. So that helps.”

Ren nodded. “Though I struggle a little with the dialect here in Tokyo. It’s not the same as what my dad’s side of the family speaks.”

“We’ll do just fine,” Omar laughed. “We’re gonna be the whitest people here so they’ll know we don’t speak the language. Now, let’s go get some sake.”

“You can drink yourself silly,” Ren groaned. “You don’t have to skate tomorrow.”

“So, I’ll drink enough for the both of us,” Omar winked. “Come on! I haven’t been to Tokyo since my junior days. Let’s go!”

The four men made their way out of the hotel and into the streets of Tokyo.

“Oh my god!” Omar was gushing a few hours and many drinks later. “I’m eating actual ramen in a sketchy shop in Tokyo.”

Ren and Piotr laughed at Omar as he scarfed down his ramen. It was decent ramen, and they had better in Hasetsu, but they were not going to discourage Omar’s excitement. The others were quite inebriated as well, Piotr more than the other two, considering he did not have a competition to get to the next day. But Jr and Ren had more than their fair share of sake.

“Omar, let me see that, you’re using the chopsticks wrong,” Ren said. “You’re putting all the teaching I gave you to waste.”

He reached over to readjust Omar’s grip on the chopstick. As soon as their hands brushed against each other, Omar jerked his hand away.

“I can handle it myself, thank you very much,” he slurred. “My fingers have great dexterity.”

“You can barely hold onto the noodles the way you’re doing it,” Ren laughed. “Am I gonna have to feed you?”

Piotr and Jr exchanged raised eyebrows but said nothing.

“Hey, leave me alone!” Omar responded, a slight pink tinge to his cheeks. “Let me eat my ramen in peace. Not all of us are Japanese after all!”

“But you should at least try to learn how to use chopsticks so you could eat your food properly,” Ren continued. He reached for Omar’s hand again. “Now let me show you how to use the chopsticks.”

He put his hand over Omar’s, guiding his fingers to hold the chopsticks correctly. Omar seemed to instantly sober up, staring wide eyed at Ren whose face was rather close to his.

“Come on! You want the full Japanese experience, right?” Ren smirked.

Jr and Piotr began snickering. The other two looked at them.

“What’s so funny?” Ren asked.

“Nothing,” Jr chuckled. “You guys are just as close as ever, aren’t you?”

Now it was Ren’s turn to blush.

\---

“Oh my gosh! Katsuki Yuuri came to the competition!” Kenjiro Minami gushed. “Natsuo, Misa, come meet him.”

Yuuri nervously scratched the back of his head as Minami’s kids, who were equally as excited to meet him, ran forward. It seemed like they continued to be huge fans, even after all these years since his retirement.

“How are you doing, Minami-chan?” Yuuri asked.

“Fantastic! I’m so excited to see our kids skate against each other. Natsuo has been dreaming of this day his whole life, to skate against Ren-kun. And we get to do it in our home country,” Minami said with a smile. “Speaking of which, where is Ren-kun?”

“Over there with Yurio,” Yuuri said, pointing across the rink to the other side where Yuri and Ren were talking. “I’d suggest you don’t bother them until Yurio leaves. He hates being interrupted.”

“Oh, I’ll be interrupting him,” came Mari’s voice. “I wanna talk to my nephew before the competition.”

Yuuri gasped in surprise as he felt his older sister smack the back of his head. He recovered quickly though and turned to see Mari and Yuuko standing next to him.

“It’s so good to see you again, Yuuri,” Yuuko said with a wink. “The girls are super excited to see Ren-kun skate live.”

“Where are they?” Yuuri asked.

“Sitting in the audience with Pi-kun,” Yuuko explained. “We’ll be joining them soon but we wanted to say hi first.”

Yuuri nodded before turning to Minami. “You remember my sister, Mari, right? And my best friend, Yuuko. They came down from Hasetsu.”

“That’s so wonderful,” Minami grinned. “It feels so nice that Natsuo here is skating in the home country so it was easier for me to come see him.”

“It’s really nice,” Mari agreed. “When I was younger I used to travel far to see Yuuri compete but now I got the onsen to worry about so I can’t go as far. I’m glad I get to see Ren-kun compete this year.”

She then glanced across the rink and saw that Yuri and Ren had parted ways and Ren was heading around the rink to reach them on the other side.

Meanwhile, up in the stands, Piotr and Yuuko’s daughters were actively speculating how the competition was going to go and Omar was focusing on his cell phone, trying to tune out their annoying chatter which he could not understand.

“Dmitri’s technical score is identical to Ren’s,” Lutz was saying. “So I think it’ll be close because the two of them usually don’t fall. But Ren definitely has the performance aspect down flat.”

“But I heard that Dmitri added another quad to his free skate this time around after Skate Canada,” Axel responded. “So that would bring him up.”

“Are you kidding? Five quads?” Piotr rolled his eyes. “Dmitri’s good but he hasn’t reached _that_ level yet. I think Ren will have five quads in his free skate before Dmitri.”

“Who do you want to win, Omar?” Loop asked turning to Omar.

Omar did not respond.

“He doesn’t speak Japanese, remember?” Piotr said to the girls. He then spoke to Omar in Russian. “Hey, Omar. The girls are asking who you are rooting for? Ren or Dmitri?”

“Nekola,” Omar responded gruffly, not looking up from his phone.

“You do realize that if he won, he still probably wouldn’t qualify for the nationals.”

“I don’t really care who wins. I just want someone to beat Dmitri or Ren,” Omar responded. “I want more interesting competition.”

“What’s he’s saying?” Loop asked.

“He’s just being weird,” Piotr responded in Japanese. “To be honest, he’s been weird since we got here.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to give us more detail than that,” Lutz smirked.

“I have my speculations,” Piotr grinned, grateful that Omar did not understand Japanese. He still leaned close to the triplets anyways and spoke softly as he told them about how Ren and Omar were acting the night before. The women giggled and gasped at all the appropriate moments, serving as to further tick Omar off.

“Can’t we all just speak English?” he asked.

“The Nishigoris don’t speak English that well,” Piotr explained.

Eventually it was time for the men’s short program to begin. Yuuri and Yuri were both standing by Ren’s sides as he took off his team jacket. Handing it to his father, he took a deep breath. He hated being the first one to go.

“Yura, I’ve been thinking,” Ren began. “I’m gonna change my lutz in the combo from a triple to a quad.”

Yuri groaned. “You tell me this just before you go on? You’re worse than Victor.”

“I was gonna do it without telling you but then I figured it was better to get your opinion,” Ren smirked.

Yuri pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“Four quads will be tough in one short program, especially with the flip at the end,” Yuuri commented.

“But I need to do something to up my chances of beating Dmitri,” Ren explained. “And that’s a spot I can safely do it. I was practicing them earlier and I feel confident about it.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that you are taking a huge risk.”

“Is it worth it?” Ren asked.

“If you are confident that you can do it then I’m not going to stop you. But if this prevents you from getting into the finals, don’t come crying to me.”

Ren nodded. “No need to worry,” he smiled. “I got this.”

He then skated onto the ice, trying to let his confident act convince himself that he was going to well. He skated to the middle of the rink and got into his starting position, ready to perform his waltz once again.

“Have you seen Ren do his short program at practice?” Piotr asked Omar.

Omar shook his head. “We usually don’t watch each other’s programs until competition. We don’t like to spoil each other until the whole thing is put together.”

“And now you’re here to figure out how you’re going to beat him,” Piotr frowned.

“I’m not going to answer that question to protect my honor,” Omar hummed.

Ren began his waltz in earnest. As he spun around, he could feel all the eyes of the audience on him. But he knew that there were extra eyes on him this time. Sitting with Piotr, Mari, Yuuko, and her daughters was Omar, who was studying him no doubt and preparing for the finals. He had to make sure he was not only flawless and intimidating but also unpredictable. That was why he had planned to wow the audience and his rival with four quads in a short program, a feat that had never been done before, especially with one of them being in a combination.

And it was that combination that he had coming up next. He skated a little bit faster to gain his momentum and took off.

He should have realized while he was in the air that he should have kept it a triple. But instead, he was so focused on making it a quad that he did not realize that he had only gotten three and a half turns and he landed facing the opposite direction than he intended. He could hear the oohs and hissing of the audience as he lost his momentum and his balance as his foot landed on the ice followed by the rest of his body. His eyes teared up when he hit his hip against the ice. He quickly got up and began skating again.

So, he would have a one point deduction which was not so bad in the long run. But what was worse was that he was no longer intimidating. He was no longer surprising. He was just like every other skater. He was not as perfect as he was trying to appear to be. More than anything else, Ren was embarrassed by his mistake.

 _“All right, Nikiforov,”_ he thought. _“You need to shake that off and keep going. You’ve got two more quads to go. You can still win this.”_

He moved into his step sequence followed by a combination spin. He arched his back as far as he could with hopes that he could make up for his fall. The song began to pick up energy but he was already finding himself exhausted. He stretched back into the Ina Baur and took a deep breath. His heart was pounding. He could not hear the cheering from the audience. They must have been soon disappointed in him. This was not how he wanted things to go.

He grabbed his imaginary partner and began swinging them around, taking deep breaths to calm himself for the quad flip in the end. This was what was going to give him the gold medal at this competition. This was going to be his signature move, finishing off with the jump that brought his parents together. This was the quad that would eventually lead to his very existence.

And with that motivation, Ren took off, feeling light in the air. It was when his feet left the ice that he loved skating the most. He felt superhuman, like he could actually fly. He landed perfectly and was able to finish his program flawlessly. He struck his final pose, breathing heavily. He was unaware that he had been holding his breath during that last jump.

Sound came roaring back in his ears as the audience applauded. He came out of his pose and bowed, trying hard not to let the tears in his eyes escape. He knew he messed up horribly. He should have just listened to Yuri from the beginning and not let his ego take over. His head hung low as he skated to the edge where his father and Yuri were waiting for him. Yuuri had a small smile on his face. Yuri had his arms crossed over his chest and looked downright upset.

“I hope you learned you lesson,” he whispered to Ren. “Thankfully you didn’t fuck up the rest so you still have a good chance.”

He handed Ren his skate guards and then guided him over to the kiss and cry. Yuuri had his arm around him.

“You did a great job, Ren. I couldn’t be prouder,” he whispered in his ear.

“Tch,” Yuri scoffed. “We’ll see after the scores come back.”

Ren’s score turned out to be 100.4, barely making it to the triple digits and much lower than his score at Skate America. Ren hung his head sadly. He knew what kind of scores Dmitri would get. There was no way he was going to get gold in this competition.

“Hmmm…” Yuri muttered. “Not as bad as I would have thought.”

Ren glared at him before getting up from the kiss and cry and storming off. He went to the locker room to change into his team jacket and sweats, throwing his skates and costume haphazardly in his bag.

“Oi! What do you think you’re doing?” came a voice behind him in Russian.

“Now is not the time, Yura,” Ren sighed. “I’m heading back to the hotel. I don’t want to see the rest of the competition.”

“You think Jr would abandon you just because he flubbed a jump. You’re not perfect, Nikiforov. Neither of us are.”

Ren turned around to realize it was not Yuri who had been talking to him but Omar. He had his arms crossed over his chest, looking more like Yuri than ever before. The look on his face was outright _pissed_.

“Come back and sit with the rest of us in the audience. Not only because you should be supporting your friends but also because I am going to go mad if they all keep talking in Japanese and leaving me out of the conversation. At least give me someone to talk to,” he begged.

Ren could not help but smile then. “Okay fine.”

“Besides,” Omar added with a smirk, “You can help me take notes on Dmitri. We need to keep a close eye on our competition.”

Ren nodded. “Right.”

He finished tying his shoes and made his way over to Omar who put an arm around his shoulders and lead him out of the locker room and back to the stands. Ichiro Yoshido of Japan had already finished his short program and Teo Nekola of Italy was in the middle of his program. Ren had heard that name before. The skater’s parents had skated the same time as his own but his parents were not particularly close with them. He had just heard many rumors about how Teo’s mother’s brother had worked hard to try to keep them apart when they were younger but clearly failed. The existence of Teo and his brother proved that.

Teo’s program looked very clean and precise but his jumps were not advanced, putting in only two triples. Everything else was a single or double. His spin sequences were short and he spent a lot of time skating in circles, preparing for his next element. Ren remembered when he had been a skater like that, but it had been many years ago. He could feel the weight of his experience on him now, having done competitive ice skating well over a decade.

Teo finished and earned his score of 78.3, putting him in third place, with Yoshido in second and Ren in first. There was a break, and the second batch of skaters took the ice to warm up. Omar leaned back and put his feet up on the seat in front of him.

“Have you seen Dmitri’s programs yet?” he asked Ren.

“Yeah,” Ren admitted. “I saw how he did at Skate Canada. I was hoping that moving to the senior division would make it more difficult for him to keep his undefeated streak but he just gets better every time. I don’t know how it’s possible.”

“Just wait until his body starts to change. You and I know both know puberty is not nice to a figure skater,” Omar smirked.

“Until then, he’s still much more agile and flexible than us and has not accumulated as many injuries,” Ren reminded him.

“But he also isn’t as strong as us. He can do beautiful quads but he tires out too quickly. I heard him telling Victor he’s gonna try to make every jump in his free program a quad by the Olympics. There’s no way anyone has the stamina to do that.”

“I’ll sooner do a quad axel,” Ren laughed.

“Yeah, so never,” Omar winked. “You can barely even land triple axels consistently. How is it that you, Ren Nikiforov, who has the best jumps in the world right now, can’t even land a double axel with confidence?”

“It’s totally a mental block, I swear!” Ren protested. “Now be quiet, Dmitri’s about to go on!”

Dmitri had skated to the middle of the rink as the other two skaters left the ice. He reached his arms up over his head in fists and looked up to the sky, waiting for the music to start. And it did with an exciting orchestra, complete with brass.

As the lyrics began, Axel, Lutz, and Loop snickered, knowing the song very well.

“I still can’t get over it,” Axel laughed. “I know he’s singing in English but this is totally a Japanese singer.”

“It’s so corny that he chose this one,” Loop commented.

“What’s his theme anyways?” Yuuko asked.

“It’s ‘legacy,’” Ren explained.

“And suddenly it makes sense,” Piotr muttered. “Corny or not, this song is about legacy.”

As Piotr and the triplets were singing the familiar tune, Ren turned over to Omar who was staring intently at his little brother. Ren realized that Omar had not seen his brother’s short program at all before this, judging by the fact that his mouth was slightly agape.

Dmitri finished a combination spin and began skating around to build up speed before he effortlessly went into a quad loop followed by a double loop, both arms raised. The audience roared. Those who had seen his program in Canada knew that he had changed that from a just a triple loop. Dmitri was pushing himself to up the difficulty of his skate every time he competed.

Dmitri never fell once. He never under rotated. He never stumbled. He was an expert on the ice. It did not seem real. As the song reached its final chorus, Dmitri’s arms were wide as if he were trying to embrace the audience. He was really living the legacy of his father, the living legend Yuri Plisetsky. It was like Ren was watching old videos of his coach in his glory days and seeing it live in front of him now.

Dmitri finished his skate with one fist punched in the air as the song ended. It was clear that he had pushed himself beyond his limits as he fell to his knees. The audience roared while Dmitri tried to catch his breath. After a few moments, he finally was able to push himself back up and skated to the side of the rink where Victor and Otabek were waiting. As soon as he was near his father, he collapsed, needing to be helped by Otabek to the kiss and cry.

When the score popped up, the audience went wild. Dmitri, slumped over from exhaustion, lifted his head up slightly to see that he had scored 129.4, a half point higher than the world record for a men’s short program, set years ago by his own father, Yuri Plisetsky. For years, no one ever came close to it and now Dmitri had surpassed it. He smirked and then collapsed forward from exhaustion. Otabek and Victor had to help pick him back up and bring him back to the locker room to get water and gain energy back.

The only person who was not cheering was Omar. He was slouched forward, his lips pursed in thought. Ren bit his lip. He could not believe that this skater was actually capable of beating both of them. For so long, they had remained the top of the skating world and now Dmitri was changing that battle.

Natsuo Minami looked terrified as he went onto the ice. He had no idea how he was going to compare to the latest performance. But as Russian flags in the stands began to be overwhelmed by Japanese ones, he felt more relaxed and ready to skate. The [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n22SHeEih4) began as he skated.

“Come on!” Omar moaned. “Maybe I should start making all my skates be in Russian so no one else would understand them.”

Ren chuckled and looked up the song. The lyrics were in Japanese so he began to translate them to Omar.

“Sounds like a song about a teenager pining over a crush,” Omar smirked. “Perfect for little Minami to skate to.”

“I’m 99% sure his dad chose that song so he could use his song to express his feelings about Tousan growing up,” Piotr said with a straight face.

“You can’t be serious,” Ren blanched. He knew the Minami family was a huge fan of the Nikiforovs but he did not think the admiration was _that_ strong.

The strong amount of support for the Japanese skater from his home country was enough to boost him with a higher score of 105.3, his personal best. He cheered at the kiss and cry, hugging his father. He was now in second place with Dmitri well in the lead. Ren groaned. Now he was in third. He still had a chance to claw his way to silver if he did well in the free program, but this competition was making his stomach hurt.

Jr was the final skater to go. He passed by Dmitri in the locker room who had finally recovered some strength. They nodded to each other in mutual respect. Jr knew that there was no way he was going to beat the Russian skater but he was going to push hard for second place. Getting a silver still guaranteed him a spot in the final and that was what really mattered. He could worry about beating Dmitri later.

He went out onto the ice, greeting the audience with a bright smile. His famous talent was his personality, winning plenty of points in the performance aspects of his skates, which more than made up for the fact that he was not as technically skilled as other skaters his age. That was what got him this far every year. He had been working extra hard on his jumps and spins to continue to increase his score and it had worked for him in France, winning him his very first gold medal. He knew that this was his season.

His theme this season was growing up and he had that story to tell with his short program. He crouched down as if he were smaller and waited until the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCob76kigA) began. The song began as if he were a small child, crouched down, purposely wobbling on his skate, like he was learning how to skate for the first time. He then allowed himself to stretch up taller as the song continued and as the song continued, he became more refined in his moves. He made his first jump a single toe loop, followed by a double.

His story was evolving before their eyes. Jr was telling the story of his own skating, his hopes and dreams that had come with it. Partially through the song, he stood in the center, waving to the audience. He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a plastic medal, representing his very first competition. His jumps and spins became more sophisticated.

The song began to talk about being older, around age 30. He showed his future, a story of a family, cradling an imaginary baby. He put that imaginary baby on the ice, now a child.  He then looked down at that child as he skated. Ren realized he was acting as if he were skating with a child. He then let the child go so they could grow up and become their own person.

As the song began to talk about being age 60, Jr forgot about the child and began to skate for himself. He slid forward on his knees and hugged himself. He leaned forward for a moment as if he were crying. He then stood back up and shook his head. From the rest of the short program on, he danced beautifully, executing his jumps perfectly, with beautiful spins. It was clear that he had been working hard on that over the past year.

“This is really good,” Omar muttered.

Ren nodded. He was suddenly very worried he would not qualify for the final.

Jr finished his song, crouching down again. When he finished, he laid down on the ice, the end of his life. The song ended and the audience applauded. Ren turned to his right and saw Mari, Yuuko, Piotr and the triplets were all in tears.

“That was so beautiful,” Mari sighed. “Especially when he was holding the baby. It reminded me of when you were born, Ren.”

Ren smiled, rarely seeing his aunt being this feminine and emotional. She chuckled and messed with his hair.

Jr deserved every point he got. He had finished the short program with a performance that told a beautiful story, the story of growing up and growing old. And he deserved to be in second place behind Dmitri at the end of that day. Natsuo was in third and Ren was in fourth. Ichiro took fifth and Teo took sixth.

It had been many years since Ren was coming out of the short program in the bottom three. He wondered if he was getting too old for competitions. He was losing his touch. He leaned forward and sighed.

“Hey.”

Ren felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked up at Omar who gave him a small smile. “You still got the free program to go. Your story isn’t over yet.”

Ren, on the other hand, was not so sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nastuo's Short Program: them - Pigstar  
> Jr's Short Program: 7 Years - Lukas Graham


	8. Chapter 8

There would be a few days before the free program. Most of the mornings were spent sleeping in, the afternoons dedicated to practice, the evening for watching the other skating events, and the night for going out and exploring Tokyo.

Ren and Omar sat in the audience watching the senior women’s free skate to cheer on one of their rinkmates. Lara Tchaikovskaya, daughter of Mila Babicheva, a good friend of Yuri’s, and famous hockey player Lev Tchaikovsky, was shining in her senior debut, bringing more pride to Russia. The redhead scored rather high, putting her in first place with only one skater left. When that last skater’s name was announced, Omar elbowed Ren in the ribs with a chuckle. Ren rolled his eyes. Julia Giacometti took to the ice wearing an outfit that was rather revealing. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, with pieces of hair covering her face.

“How old is Julia again?” Ren asked.

“20,” Omar said. “Our birthdays are a week apart, remember?”

“Oh yeah…” Ren sighed. “She just looks so much older now.”

“You interested?” Omar smirked.

“Not at all,” Ren sighed.

As the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwLRQn61oUY) began, Julia raised her arms high. She then began swinging her hips side to side. Her entire performance exuded sensuality and independence. It was so difference from the year before when she did “Someday my Prince will Come.” This was a new Julia and it was clear that she was going to exude the sexuality that her father was well known for. Partway through the performance, she pulled her hair out of the messy bun and let her brown, wavy hair fall down and swing as she spun around.

“She’s so different from Elias,” Omar muttered. “He’s definitely the innocent one of the two of them, even though he is older.”

“Based on the stories Dad tells me about their father, I’m not surprised Julia would dance like this,” Ren responded. “Still I guess she has every right to remind us she’s definitely not a little girl anymore.”

Julia finished her program with her arms wrapped around her and looking over her shoulder at the judges with a wink. Her score brought her to first place with Lara in second.

Omar whistled. “She definitely gets points for the performance aspect of her program.”

“Come on,” Ren said. “Let’s get out of here before the rest of the crowds do. We only got one more night of exploring Tokyo.”

It was true. The next evening would be Ren’s free skate and then they would be leaving back for Russia first thing the following morning. Omar did not hesitate to agree to the plans of spending one more night out on the town. They hailed the nearest taxi which took them to a street with many night clubs.

“Awesome!” Omar cheered. “You know me so well, Ren. A night of dancing is just what I need.”

“I figured,” Ren grinned. “Let’s check out these places.”

They stumbled across one club that said “Salud” in roman letters. Latino music was blasting from inside. Omar ushered Ren in saying that the music was probably better than any Japanese club they went to. Ren sighed. Having been a longtime fan of JPop and JRock, he was hoping to be able to dance to some of the music from his father’s native country. But he would never say no for an opportunity to dance with Omar.

It turned out that they were having salsa dancing lessons that evening. The instructor spoke Japanese and heavily accented English but it was clear that this club was more for tourists.

“Okay everybody. You need to grab a partner.”

“Excellent,” Omar smirked. “Let’s find me a cute lady to dance with.”

Two Japanese girls who were giggling and pointing in their direction caught their attention. Ren and Omar went over to them with smiles.

“Good evening, ladies,” Ren said in Japanese.

“Hi!” the girls said in unison.

“I’m Ren and this is Omar. Would you ladies like to be our partners?” Ren asked.

“You speak Japanese really well,” one of the girls said.

“Well, I am half Japanese,” Ren explained.

Omar held out a hand and one of the girls took it. He then lead her away to the dance floor. The other girl giggled and held out her hand for Ren.

“I’m Chihoko,” the girl said. Ren paused for a moment, finding that name familiar but did not think much of it as he lead her to the dance floor. “So, are you from Japan?”

“No, my dad is,” Ren explained. “He grew up in Kyushu, in a small town called Hasetsu.”

“Never heard of Hasetsu,” Chihoko said. “But I’ve never been to Kyushu myself. And where is your mom from?”

Ren hesitated before he answered. “Russia.” It was easier than trying to go through the whole explanation that his actual mother was also from Hasetsu and his other father was Russian. He knew his family was not traditional but he did not have to explain it in such detail to strangers. “I grew up in St. Petersburg.”

“Your friend, too?” Chihoko asked. “He’s such a handsome foreigner.”

“He is handsome alright,” Ren sighed. “Yeah, Omar and I have grown up together.”

Chihoko giggled but said nothing as she held onto his hands. The music was about to begin. Thankfully, Ren had many years of studying dance growing up that catching onto this new style was rather easy. The challenge of this compared to the fluidity of ice skating, however, was that salsa dancing had a rhythm to it. As the instructor counted out, he moved his feet in time.

“That’s right,” the instructor said. “1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. _Ichi, nii, san._ _Ichi, nii, san._ Move your feet to the music.”

Chihoko was wiggling her hips to the music. It was obvious she had done this before. Before Ren could realize it, she pushed his hand and let go, allowing them both to pull apart from each other. She then spun around until her back was flushed against his. Ren continued to count his steps in time with the music rather than add any style to his dancing. He glanced over at Omar who was silent as he danced with Chihoko’s friend. She did not speak much English and he did not speak any Japanese so they danced in silence with each other.  He did not look like he was having as much fun as Ren was.

After the lesson was over, people separated and began dancing on their own. Ren said goodbye to Chihoko and her friend and grabbed Omar’s wrist.

“Would it be better to dance with someone you could have a conversation with?” he asked in Russian.

“Thank god!” Omar sighed, grabbing onto Ren’s hands. “I thought it’d be nice to dance with a hot girl but without conversation, you got nothing.”

“Who would have thought?” Ren replied, rolling his eyes. “I really need to teach you some basic Japanese. Now, dance with me.”

“Yessir!”

The salsa music continued to play and neither Ren nor Omar knew who was leading and who was following. They probably looked incredibly uncoordinated and no one would ever imagine they were internationally famous figure skaters. However, they did not care. They just enjoyed the night, adding this adventure to their many memories.

\---

Ren took a deep breath as he stood at the wall of the rink. Teo Nekola and Ichiro Yoshida had already performed their free skates and now it was his turn. He felt a sudden rush of anxiety that usually occurred just before he was about to perform. He knew it would go away as soon as the music started but it did not make it much better.

“You can do this,” Omar whispered in his hear as he put an arm on his shoulder.

Ren shivered, though not from anxiety this time. He put his hand on top of Omar’s.

“After I skate this,” he said. “Come to the kiss and cry with me. I wanna celebrate my record breaking score with you.”

“Ambitious, aren’t we?” Omar chuckled. “Well, then show me the Ren I like to see most skate out there.”

He gave Ren’s shoulder a squeeze and let go. Ren stepped out onto the ice and skated forward, his arms spread wide as he greeted the crowds. Fans of his father, Yuuri, were big fans of him as well, even though he was skating for Russia. And he felt the love and support as many Russian and Japanese flags appeared in the audience to cheer him on. He got himself positioned in the middle of the rink and wrapped his arms around his torso. He closed his eyes as he waited for the music to begin.

As the music began, he opened his eyes and raised his arms high, looking directly at Omar. He was unsure if Omar had seen videos of his last time performing this skate in the US but he was going to give him a show this time. He wanted to impress Omar, impress his family, impress all of Japan. He wanted to stand on the podium despite the setback of coming in fourth during the short program.

 _I’ve learned my lesson,_ he thought as he went through his program, focusing hard on making his movements smooth. _I can’t assume because I’m one of the best that I’ll always be the best. I have to always strive to do better because I will always have competition to challenge me._

Every step sequence was perfect. Every jump was flawless. His spins were smooth and delicate. He knew he was going to score high. As he moved into the second half of his performance, he knew his biggest challenge was to come. The double axel which he had been practicing hard and had about an 80% chance of landing in practice. He and Yuri had discussed keeping it a triple lutz which he knew he could clear and he would get more points. But he wanted to show that he was always improving and trying better. So, he went for it.

It was only a double axel, nothing impressive, but Ren managed to land it. Those who followed Ren’s journey closely and knew of his struggles with the axel, cheered loudly, knowing that while the points would not be as high, his personal goals had been met. He grinned as he moved into the finale of the piece, spinning and waving his arms with as much passion as he could. He snuck a glance at Omar on the side of the rink and he could tell that his friend had a satisfied smile on his face. He made his way back to the center of the stage to do a spinning combination to end the performance, ending with his hand reaching up into the air.

 _Only one person can say they’re the absolute best,_ Ren thought as the crowd cheered. _And I intend to be that person._

He bowed and made his way off the rink right to where Omar was waiting. He handed Ren his skate guards with one hand and held up his hand for a high five with the other.

“You did great, Nikiforov,” he said. “Defnitely worthy of a bronze medal.”

“That’s it?!” Ren gasped. “I thought you had more faith in me. I totally won a gold with that.”

“Not with Dmitri skating. His base score is so much higher than yours,” Omar grinned.

“Thanks for your support,” Ren deadpanned.

They, along with Yuri, went to the Kiss and Cry. Victor pretended to not be offended that Omar was taking his place this time but Ren knew that he was really upset. When his score came up, 202.43 putting him currently in first place, Omar slapped him on the back.

“Not your personal best and not a record breaker, Nikirofov,” he said. “But you did quite well. Couldn’t have asked for a better score.”

“I’ll do better,” Ren responded. “I’ll do better and defeat both you Altins. Just you wait for the finals.”

Omar smirked. “That’s the Ren I like to see. Get that fire back in your eyes.”

Natsuo, Jr, and Dmitri went onto the rink to warm up for the second half of the program. Ren went back to the locker room to change into his sweats and team Russia Jacket. He then went with Omar up to the stands where Piotr, Mari and the Nishigoris were sitting.

“That was so great, Ren,” Yuuko beamed. “You grow so much every day as a skater. Your fathers should be proud.”

“I know they are,” Mari added. “Every time I talk to Yuuri, he’s talking about how great of a skater you are. I think this may be my favorite program you’ve done ever. It was so beautiful.”

“Thanks, guys,” Ren beamed. “I’m glad you all got to be here to see it.”

“ _Representing Japan, our next skater is Natsuo Minami!”_ came the announcer over the loudspeakers.

Nastuo greeted the audience with a bright smile on his face. He was dressed in a dark purple costume with white frills on the ends of the sleeves and the collar. He moved to his opening pose, hip popped to the side.

As the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI2fRPmEZ6A) picked up, Nastuo skated around, building up the momentum. And when with a kick in the air and a laugh, it became clear that Natsuo was having fun with his skate. He sped up going for a jump combination, slightly wobbly on the landing, but kept going anyways, the bright smile never leaving his face. He skated to the middle of the rink and began wiggling his hips side to side and he crouched down. He continued wiggling them as he came back up. It was like he was at an old disco club.

The audience was clapping along with the internationally famous song. Natsuo may have not been technically the best skater out there but he sure knew how to rile up the audience. He began clapping as well, feeling the energy. He was so into it that he nearly forgot to do his next jump and it resulted in him tripping over his skate when he attempted a toe loop and falling flat on his face. The audience gasped as he quickly got back up and continued skating.

“Ooh, there’s blood on the ice,” Omar winced.

“There’s blood on his face,” Ren remarked. “You don’t think he broke his nose with that fall, did you?”

“He hit it pretty hard,” Piotr commented. “I can’t believe he’s still going.”

And Natsuo kept going, ignoring the surging pain in his sinuses. He no longer could breathe through his nose but he had to finish his skate. And he did, one arm in the air, the other on his hip, again pushed out in the air. The audience cheered. Natsuo, as the adrenaline that cursed through his blood began to fall, suddenly felt the surge of pain through his face. He placed his hand up to his nose and then saw the blood coming out of it. It began to sting as well.

And then Natsuo fainted on the ice.

There was a brief intermission as the ice was cleaned and Natsuo was taken to medical. He had only passed out from the sight of his own blood but it seemed like his nose was indeed broken. When he came to, he agreed to go to the hospital. However, not before he got his score which put him in second place behind Ren.

Jr was next to go on the ice, a little irritated that he had to wait longer before he went out. He more than made up for it with his free skate though. Ever the story teller, Jr was able to skate a beautiful story of a young man falling in love for the first time. He kept the audience mesmerized as his body swayed with the music. He overrotated on his quad salchow at one point and touched the ground on a triple axel but otherwise his performance was perfect. Jr was always the one who score high on the performance elements and that was where he used his strengths to his advantage. Ren could feel every emotion. It felt so familiar. He turned to Omar who was just as mesmerized as he was by the performance.

“He knows how to keep the audience’s attention, that’s for sure,” he muttered.

Ren nodded.

Jr finished with a score of 201.3, landing in second place between Ren and Natsuo. Omar slapped Ren on the back.

“Silver medal! Not bad!” he laughed.

“I’m still in first!” Ren protested.

“Dmitri hasn’t gone yet,” Omar reminded him.

“Thanks for having so much faith in me,” Ren groaned.

“You haven’t seen my brother skate yet have you?”

Dmitri came out onto the rink then, his arms spread wide as he greeted the audience. He did not have a wide smile but rather a focused look on his face. His blond hair fell over his face and he brushed it to the side before getting into his starting pose. The audience grew very quiet, ready to see Russia’s new legend skate live.

Ren was surprised that the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2mzaMjVfcI) Dmitri chose was more of a techno song. But as it built up, so did the intensity of skate. His face showed no emotion as he focused on his performance, making sure to execute every move perfectly.

“He planned five quads in this free skate,” Omar muttered. “I could barely handle two when I was his age. He’s just not human.”

Dmitri went for his first quad, a quad toe loop, one arm raised in the air. The crowd gasped as he landed it without stumbling and continued with his skate. Ren kept his eyes glued to his rinkmate, in shock that the skater was nine years younger than him. Even though he had the advantage of experience, Dmitri had the advantage of better flexibility. In addtition, he still had the strength to pull off flawless jumps. Ren sighed. This could not be real.

“Silver medals are really not that bad,” Omar chuckled. “After all, you have a bunch from competing against me.”

“You’re the only one I’ll accept getting a silver medal against,” Ren muttered. “Because I always snatch the gold back the next competition.”

As Dmitri finished off his performance with an impressive quad lutz, triple toe loop combo, Ren shook his head. He had landed all his quads and did not look exhausted at all.

“There’s no way I’ll be able to snatch it from Dmitri.”

Omar rolled his eyes. “That’s no way to think. Just think of it as someone trying to push you to be better.”

“I’m only human, Omar,” Ren reminded him. “Your little brother is super human.”

“I’ll figure out his weakness,” Omar pledged.

“What are you two talking about?” Axel asked, elbowing Ren in the side. “Pay attention, they’re about to give Dmitri’s score.”

“It’s definitely at least 210,” Loop said, looking down at the calculator on her phone. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Dmitri broke the free skate record as well.”

Dmitri did not. But with a score of 211.3, he definitely won the NHK trophy and had qualified for the finals. Ren, who had scored silver, also qualified along with Jr, who had gotten bronze. They would be heading to London in a couple weeks to compete against Pravat, Elias and Omar in the grand prix final. Ren stood on the podium, holding the silver medal. Many other skaters had worked their whole life and never held that medal. Meanwhile, Ren had quite an extensive collection himself. But this time, it felt bitter.

That evening, the Nikiforovs, Nishigoris, and Mari went out to dinner. Omar tagged along because he would rather hang out with Ren’s family than his own. He immediately regretted it when everyone began talking in rapid Japanese. Ren and Piotr would occasionally translate the conversation to Russian under their breaths but there was no way to keep up with everything that was going on. So, Omar stuck to eating his dinner and stayed quiet.

“Do you ever miss the competitions?” Victor was asking the triplets. Now that they were in their thirties and well past their prime for competitive skating, they no longer competed. But when they were younger, they were involved in the national figure skating scene. Only Loop was able to qualify for the Four Continents once but she did not do so well. So, the girls were happy being locally famous and enjoying the sport as spectators. Of course, they were still avid fans as they had been as children.

“It’s nice to watch them again,” Loop admitted. “And not have to deal with the stress of practicing your programs and the costumes and the traveling.”

“Axel considered going into coaching,” Yuuko mentioned. “What ever happened to that?”

Axel shrugged. “I like teaching the young ones better. It gives them a chance to experience the ice and maybe one day, they’ll be as good as Yuuri and represent Japan.”

“I wish you could represent both Japan and Russia, Ren,” Mari said. “I know you grew up in St. Petersburg, but it would be nice if you had a stronger following here.”

“It’s okay. Natsuo can be Japan’s pride,” Ren said, blushing. “I feel bad that he had injured himself. It probably cost him the final, to be honest.”

“It happens,” Victor chuckled. “Your father and I have injured ourselves many times on the ice. But you just keep going. One bad performance doesn’t end your career.”

“Though it may feel like that sometimes and it is completely valid,” Yuuri added in assurance.

“What are they talking about?” Omar asked.

“People make mistakes and it’s okay,” Ren summarized in Russian. “Also, my parents have screwed up performances in the past.”

“I don’t believe it,” Omar chuckled. “ Victor is a skating god. He’s absolutely perfect. Probably the only skater who could beat Dmitri if he was still in his prime.”

“My dad’s not super human, you know,” Ren muttered. “And don’t let him hear you think that way. He’ll let it get to his head.”

“Let what get to his head?” Victor asked, grinning innocently.

“Nothing,” Ren sighed. “Omar just doesn’t believe that you could make mistakes in your performances.”

“Really?” Victor frowned. “Omar, you’ve seen me fall on the ice during practices. I’m not perfect.”

Omar blushed.

“Not like my Yuuri!” Victor added, giving his husband a tight squeeze. “He is the embodiment of perfection.”

“Far from it…” Yuuri muttered, his face turning red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Julia's Free Skate: Confident - Demi Lovato  
> Natsuo's Free Skate: 1999 - Prince  
> Dmitri's Free Skate: Legacy - Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman  
> \-----  
> Heh heh... Chihoko.... >.>  
> Over 1000 hits! Thank you so much guys! Please comment to let me know what you are looking for in the story and what I can do to make this story better.


	9. Chapter 9

The sound of the sharp blades grazing across the ice was as natural as the sound of the wind blowing in his ear. It echoed across the walls of the empty skating rink. It was late at night, well past closing time for the rink. But when he had the last name Nikiforov and a key to the building, Ren could easily use this place as his own personal skating rink after hours. It was something he often did when he just wanted to be alone. He would not be practicing for any performance or competition. He would just be skating for fun, not worrying about technique or skill. It was a reminder of why he had wanted to skate in the first place. It reminded him of his love for skating.

He heard the door open and he turned to see Omar entering the rink, his coat and hat on, fresh snow sprinkled over him.

“I figured I’d find you here,” he said as he took off his hat and placed it on a bench. He began put pull his hair back in a ponytail. “I ran by your house but Victor said you weren’t home. When you didn’t answer your phone, I figured you had to be here.”

“Sorry,” Ren responded, skating toward the wall. “I haven’t looked at my phone in a while.”

“Why are you here right now?” Omar asked. “You know we have an early flight tomorrow.”

“I can sleep on the flight,” Ren shrugged. “I’m not worried. Dad will make sure I wake up on time.”

“Mind if I join you?” Omar asked. “I don’t want to take away from your Ren time.”

“It’s fine,” Ren shrugged. He then skated away from the wall and began to circle around the rink some more. Omar had gone to the locker room to grab his spare pair of skates. As he came onto the rink, he joined Ren as he continued his circles.

“You ever worry you’re gonna get hurt skating here by yourself?” Omar asked.

“I don’t do any crazy jumps or spins,” Ren assured him. “Nothing more than a double.”

“And no axels I hope,” Omar snickered.

“That’s low, Altin, and you know it,” Ren frowned. “You know I’m currently the only skater who can do all quads except for the axel. And no one has been able to do the axel.”

“Dmitri has been practicing his salchow you know,” Omar informed him. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets it by the finals or nationals.”

Ren pursed his lips but said nothing. He began skating faster before spinning around and taking off in a quad salchow. He landed it without any issue. Omar whistled.

“We get it. You can salchow with your eyes closed,” he chuckled. “Just keep practicing your axels so you can be the first to do all the quads.”

“Or maybe I’ll get the first quintuple toe loop,” Ren responded skating back toward Omar. “That’ll really surprise the audience.”

“I think we should surprise everyone and just go into pair skating together,” Omar joked as he reached for Ren’s hips.

Ren screamed when Omar attempted to lift him in the air, barely getting him higher than a couple inches before Ren grabbed onto him for dear life. Omar gently put him back down. They were laughing so hard they did not hear someone else entering the rink.

“Maybe I should do the lifting,” Ren suggested, after catching his breath.  He then let go of Omar. “I am the heavier one after all.”

“Or I can just build up muscle,” Omar responded, pulling Ren as they skated around some more. “I bet we could come up with a pair skate better than either of our fathers’. Why don’t we do this for our exhibition?”

“Not a bad idea,” Ren chuckled. “I feel like our parents have been wanting us to pair skate together since we first hit the ice.”

“It’s because I don’t trust anyone else on the ice but you, Ren,” Omar shrugged. He grabbed Ren’s hand and put it behind his back. He then put an arm over Ren’s shoulder and leaned back, letting Ren spin him around. It was a move that required a lot of trust and a little bit of arm strength.

When Omar came back up after the spin, he found that he and Ren were close, their faces were merely inches apart. Ren still had his arm wrapped around Omar, his hand firmly placed on the small of his back. Their legs were perfectly positioned between each other and their hips were very close. They both slowed down as they stared at each other, feeling each others’ breath on their lips. Ren’s heart was racing and he was sure it was not just all the skating they had just did. Omar looked at him, his eyes wide with worry.

Suddenly, Omar pushed Ren away and began skating off the ice. He quickly put on his skate guards and made his way out of the rink, leaving a confused Ren behind. He stared at Omar’s retreating back as he disappeared into the locker room. He looked down at his hands that tingled. His face felt hot.

“I’ve seen that look before.”

Ren looked up, startled to see Yuuri sitting on the bleachers. Neither Ren nor Omar had noticed him sitting up there. But now Yuuri presented himself, stepping out of the shadows as he went down to the side of the rink. Ren looked up at his father, his eyes watering.

“Tousan…?” he whispered. His body felt weak. “What’s wrong with me?”

Yuuri gave a small smile. “Let’s go for a walk. Take your skates off.”

Ren skated over to the side of the rink where his skate guards and sneakers were waiting. He changed into his sneakers, put on his jacket, and joined Yuuri outside.

“How long were you sitting there?” Ren asked.

“Not long,” Yuuri shrugged. “Long enough to see that wonderful pair skate you two were practicing. You two should really consider doing an exhibition skate together sometime.”

“How did you know I was at the rink?” Ren asked.

Yuuri chuckled. “You’re more like me than you’ll ever admit. I used to do the same thing when I was stressed. I’d go to the ice rink back in Hatsetsu whenever I needed some alone time. But I was always sure there was someone else in the building in case something happened to me. Usually it was Yuuko or Nishigori or one of the other workers there.”

“Yeah, I don’t really think ahead sometimes,” Ren muttered.

“And you get that from Victor,” Yuuri mused. “But it’s okay. Whenever we knew you were heading to the rink alone, someone came by to check on you at some point, whether it was your brother or your sister or myself. Just to make sure you were all right. But if it’s your way of dealing with stress, I would never stop you. I know you keep things held in for a long time and won’t talk to people. You like to let your feelings out on the rink.”

Ren nodded and closed the collar of his jacket tighter as the wind picked up. They remained quiet for a while as they continued walking.

“So, you and Omar have been friends for a long time,” Yuuri began.

“Our whole life,” Ren responded. “So I don’t know why…”

“Why what?”

“I don’t know. He’s been acting weird lately,” Ren shrugged.

“And so have you,” Yuuri commented. “Now I know Victor has teased you about it for years, but it was because we always saw that there was something between the two of you.”

Ren stopped in place. “Something…”

He stared up at his father. The snow was falling, gentle flakes landing on their shoulders. It made outside seem so much quieter. It was like Yuuri and Ren were alone on the sidewalk. And here Ren was, being confronted with the possibility that had long been joked about but he had never taken seriously.

“How do you feel about Omar? Truly…”

“I couldn’t live without him,” Ren admitted. “No one else gets me like he does. And I don’t think anyone has stayed by his side as long as I have.”

“And you want to stay by his side?”

“Of course!” Ren replied, a little louder. “I would never leave him. He means the world to me! I always want him by my side.”

Yuuri smiled. “I thought the same thing about your father,” he said. “And I had that same look on my face when I looked at Victor as you do when you look at Omar. And you’ve had that look for a long time. I think you’re just starting to realize it now.”

Ren bit his lower lip, his eyes watering. “I feel shaky…” he whispered. “What’s wrong with me? I always feel like this and my heart starts pounding whenever I think about him or whenever he’s with me.”

“I think you know exactly what’s going on, Ren,” Yuuri assured him, pulling him in for a hug. “And I think what will make everything better is if you just tell him how you feel.”

Ren curled up against his father’s chest. _How I feel…_

And then it hit him, along with the tears that began to fall. He looked up at his father, trying his hardest not to have a full blown panic attack at the realization.

“Tousan… I love him.”

Yuuri gave him a small smile. “I know you do. And I think you have loved him for a long time. And the way I saw you two skating out there, I think the feelings are mutual.”

“There’s no way. He’s never shown any interest in me like that,” Ren sighed. “He would never like me like that. He’s had so many girlfriends.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. I think he’s just as scared as you are to tell you, so he covers it up by dating all those girls,” Yuuri explained. “But you really won’t know until you talk to him. And I know it’s not easy. But even us shy, socially awkward guys can get the man of our dreams in the end. You just gotta go for it.”

Ren pursed his lips. He began walking again and Yuuri followed. They made the way back to their house. Just before they got to the front door, Yuuri laid a gentle hand on Ren’s shoulder.

“Hey, Ren?” Yuuri said, a soft smile on his face. “Thanks for opening up and talking. I know it’s not easy for you to express your feelings out loud.”

“It’s not easy,” Ren agreed. “Thanks, Tousan.”

He hugged his father before the two of them went in to be greeted by Victor’s bright smile and more hugs.

The next day, the team was heading on the flight to London. Ren had not seen Omar since they separated on the rink the day before. They had only exchanged a few generic texts. While sitting in the group in the pre-boarding area, surrounded by all their bags, Ren and Omar did not make any eye contact. Ren looked down at his hands, trying to wipe the sweat off them. He knew he would eventually have to talk to Omar, since they were sitting next to each other. But he was not going to push anything until the moment was right. And sitting in a full international flight was not the right time.

\---

_“Here we are in London, England for the long awaited Grand Prix Figure Skating Finals! We have the best skaters in the world ready to compete for the gold. And it will be interesting to see who it is.”_

_“That’s right. The competition will be fierce this year especially in the senior men’s division, with three Russians who are predicted to be one of the winners, the emergence of a Swiss skater, the final season of our favorite Thai skater, and the well-loved Canadian skater who is trying to make the podium this year. Let’s take a look at the competitors.”_

_“First, we have Pravat Chulanant of Thailand. He won two Silvers in Skate America and Cup of China and he is no stranger to the Grand Prix Finals. The 25 year old skater announced that this season would be his last and he would be focusing his energy on his father’s “Phichit on Ice” skate show, making it a worldwide phenomenon. He has chosen Thai songs for his programs to go along with his theme of Pride, showing off his Thai pride. He has been amazing this season and we hope to see him up on the podium for his final season.”_

_“Next is Elias Giacometti, age 22, from Switzerland. With two Silvers in Skate Canada and the Rostelecom Cup, Giacometti has qualified for the finals for the first time in the senior division. His younger sister, Julia, has also qualified in the senior women’s division for the first time this year. Both siblings are the children of Christophe Giacometti, a well known skater from Switzerland who had seen many Grand Prix’s in his time.”_

_“From Canada, we have Jean-Jacques Leroy Jr. With one gold at Trophée de France and one Bronze at NHK, the 26 year old skater shows no signs of stopping. Despite being the oldest of the skaters to qualify for the finals, he shows that he has continued to improve year after year. No one knows if he’s reached his peak because he continues to do better every year. In an interview, he said his inspiration for his programs this year is his family. Of course, we all know his father, Jean-Jacques Leroy Sr, who also works as his coach. His sisters, Margot and Louise Leroy will be competing in the junior and senior women’s division respectively. Their other sister, Adele, is here in London to support them.”_

_“Next, we have Ren Nikiforov, son of the famous Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov. He had shaky performances in both of his qualifying rounds  but his theme of love resonates with everyone here. He had won gold at Skate America and silver at NHK and has proven that he can overcome any upset. With four Grand Prix golds and four silvers and one bronze from his senior debut, Nikiforov has shown that he is a strong skater. Let’s see how he does this year.”_

_“Also from Russia, we have Omar Altin from Russia, son of Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek Altin. Being one of two skaters to win gold at both qualifying events, Altin is a strong contender to win the final. It would not the first time. At only 20 years old, Altin has won two Grand Prix golds and three silvers. He hopes to even out those numbers this time._

_“And finally we have Dmitri Altin of Russia, also son of Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek Altin. Last year’s junior grand prix champion, Dmitri hopes to have a repeat of that in the senior division. Having one gold in both Skate Canada and NHK, and an undefeated record since he started competitive figure skating, he is hoping to repeat the legacy of his father and become a senior champion at just 15 years old. But don’t think it will be easy when he’s competing against his own older brother.”_

_“That’s right. We have not seen the Altin brothers compete against each other so it will surely be interesting to watch them on the same playing field. We look forward to these finals.”_

_“Now let’s get on to the senior women’s finalists…”_

\---

 “It’s so annoying how we are always introduced as Papa and Äke’s kids,” Dmitri moaned as the TV in his hotel room was on, with announcers talking about the upcoming events. “Can’t we just be introduced as ourselves? I think we’ve made more than enough of a name for ourselves.”

“Says the guy who wanted to make his theme this season, ‘Legacy,’” Omar rolled his eyes. “Remember you would not be here if it weren’t for Papa and Äke.”

The brothers were sitting in Dmitri’s hotel room which had two double beds, one for Dmitri and one for one of their rinkmates who was involved in pair skating. The roommate was not there at the time, currently at practice with his partner. Omar had taken his spot on that rinkmate’s bed while Dmitri was sprawled out on his own.

“When I said legacy I meant creating my own legacy,” Dmitri said in a huff. “That I no longer need to ride on the coattails of the skaters who came before us. And I’ve been doing just that. Could you ever say you’ve broken a world record?”

“Not necessarily but it doesn’t mean that I won’t in the future,” Omar shrugged.

“But you didn’t do it when you were 15 like me or Papa,” Dmitri winked.

“Well maybe I’ll do it when I’m 24 like Yuuri,” Omar groaned. “Man, why does everything have to be a race for you? Besides, if you are at your top now, that only means you could go downhill. I’m continuing to improve every year and I’m perfectly fine with it.”

“You won’t be when you don’t win gold this year,” Dmitri said, a look of determination on his face. “I’m not only going to beat you but I’m going to leave you so far behind in silver that you’re gonna wish you didn’t compete anymore.”

“Can’t we just have a friendly sibling rivalry for once?” Omar groaned. “You always suck all the fun out of these competitions.”

“No time for fun when you gotta win,” Dmitri reminded him. “It’s not just for the glory and the bragging. Our sponsorships and therefore our livelihood depend on us winning.”

“You know, most 15 year olds don’t think about their livelihood,” Omar reminded him. “But then again, you’ve always been an odd one.”

He playfully punched his little brother in the shoulder. “Will you at least hang out with us before the final? Jr is hosting a party in his hotel room.”

“I can’t. I need to focus. And I don’t drink anyways.”

Omar laughed. “Dmitri, you’re Russian. You’ve never drank before? Come on man! You need to experience fun just once in your life.”

“I can smell a conspiracy,” Dmitri muttered, crossing his arms. “You’re trying to inebriate me so I don’t do well in the final.”

“One beer is all I ask,” Omar teased. “You know… for the experience.”

“Are you sure you’re not just asking me so you can avoid talking to Ren during the party?” Dmitri asked, eyebrows raised.

“What are you talking about?” Omar asked back.

“I can tell there’s some sort of argument going on between you two. You aren’t even looking at each other,” Dmitri explained. “Whatever it is, you should get over it and make up. I don’t think either of you could survive without the other. And I definitely don’t need your nonsense interfering with my skating.”

He crawled off the bed and went to the door. As he opened it, he turned to Omar.

“Now if you don’t mind, I have a nap to take so please leave.”

“But I don’t wanna go back to my hotel room,” Omar whined. “Don’t you ever want to spend time with your big brother?”

“You just don’t want to spend time with Ren,” Dmitri corrected. “Now go fix your problems with him. Or hang out with someone else. You must have other friends.”

“I do!” Omar responded quickly. “I just wanted to hang out with you.”

“You’re sabotaging me!” Dmitri retorted, his eyes flaring. “Now get out of my room or I’ll tell Papa you’re preventing me from winning.”

Omar glared at Dmitri. “That’s cold, threatening Papa like that. You know how he gets.”

Dmitri smirked. “That’s right. And you know if it came down between the two of us, which son he’d side with.”

Omar said no further words and got off the bed. He silently made his way out of the room and down the hall to the elevators. What Dmitri said was true and they both knew it. But he did not have to rub it in.

\---

Pravat Chulanant stood in the middle of the rink, his heart pounding. This would be his last time skating in the Grand Prix and he wanted to make it count. As the [music](http://deungdutjai.com/2017/04/30/kiannaijaida/) started, he began to slowly skate in a circle, making the circle larger with each turn, as if he were drying out a spiral with his skates on the ice. He moved smoothly, stretching out his arms and legs purposefully with every movement. The song was so beautiful and he was going to make his performance just as beautiful.

He knew the words were sung in Thai. He knew most people—except the people from his country—would not actually understand it. It was a song about heartbreak and still being in love even if that person is long gone. Pravat did know what it was like to have loved and lost both with previous lovers and now with competitive ice skating. That was his long time love and this was the end of it. This was his final year. He had combined both the fact that this was the end of his competitive career and the fact that he wanted his song to be sung in Thai into his story, going along with his theme of “Pride.”

He was proud of his father, Phichit, for changing the world of ice skating for southeast Asia. He was proud of himself for being the second Thai skater after his father to come as far as he did. While he still had the Four Continents, Worlds and the Olympics ahead of him, he still felt like things were quickly coming to a close. Everything was his last. His last qualifiers. His last time in London as a competitive skater. His last Grand Prix Final.

So Pravat skated his heart out. He skated for his people, his culture, his family, and his pride. He let his love and passion shine through and made sure no one took their eyes off him.

As he finished, the crowd roared. Pravat bowed with a huge grin on his face. He made his way over to the kiss and cry where his coach was waiting for him. His score came back 113.4 and the audience roared again. Pravat’s eyes were wide. It was his personal best by five points. He had really gotten the audience to feel his passion. He gave his father a huge hug. Phichit’s face was covered with tears.

Elias Giacometti of Switzerland was next. Dressed in a costume of black with fabric draping down from his arms that flowed as he moved, he looked like a black ghost. His makeup also included dark eye shadow and dark lipstick. He waved to the crowd with a smile on his face and made his way to the center of the rink. Then he waved his arm around, such that the fabric swayed across his face. When his face came into view again, he no longer had that smile. Instead, an eerie look took over.

The[ music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDGGU5bRXcw) began in earnest with the high pitches of violins as Elias went right into his routine. The high intensity song had the audience on the edge of their seats as Elias skated around the rink, moving his arms around so the fabric flowed underneath them. Indeed, he looked like a black ghost terrorizing all who came near him.

As he went for his only quad in the line up, the quad toe loop, he took off, making sure to raise both arms in the air. As the fabric swirled around him, he looked like a tornado. The audience gasped and applauded at the visual. Unfortunately, as he came to the ground, he could not see what was going on as the fabric was still wrapped around his face and body. He lost his balance, sliding across the ice.

His coach had warned him about trying to do that jump with both arms raised, solely because of the costume. But his father, Christophe, had pushed him to try it, saying how amazing it would look. Indeed, while in the air, the effect was amazing but as Elias continued his routine, he realized that he should have practiced that with the costume beforehand.

It was too late now, and he had to make up for the deductions in points. Unfortunately, that was the only quad he could handle confidently. This was his first time qualifying for a Grand Prix Final so he knew he had a long way to go. While many mistakes were not afforded, every opportunity was a chance to learn something new.

As the song came up to a close, Elias bent his knees and skated with his back arched, his head tipped back, his arms spread so that the fabric flew behind him. This was a move he had practiced in costume before and knew it was everyone’s favorite part. He glided across the ice, the black fabric skirted a few inches off the ice and flowed like black fog. As the song ended, he allowed his skates to come up from under him and he landed on his back, the ghost dead.

Elias kept his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath. His heart was pounding all the way up to his ears the whole time he had been skating and now that it was over, he could hear the roar of the audience. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes and getting up. He waved to the audience and took a look at all the Swiss flags that were held up for him. He decided to take a page from his father’s and sister’s book and began blowing kisses out to the audience with a flirty wink.

His score was 97.4 and he knew that he would not be up with the ranks of those skating after him but he was proud nonetheless. And he still had the free skate to push himself even further.

Jr was up next. He took his jacket off, adjusting to the cold air of the rink. His heart was pounding. He was not a stranger to these competitions, having done them since he was 13 years old. But this year he felt more emotions. The stories he was telling meant more to him this year than ever before. He took a deep breath and skated out onto the rink as he heard his name. He gestured for the audience to applaud louder. Making a sign of the cross for good luck, he crouched to the ground and waited for the song to start.

The routine began just as expected. He was making his jumps very cleanly. His spins looked beautiful. He hoped he was conveying his story from a young child learning how to skate and his growth into a confident adult skater. He pulled the medal from underneath his costume, smiling proudly.

When he held his arms in the next part of the performance, as if he were carrying a baby, he looked down at his empty arms. He felt his eyes begin to tear. He placed the baby down and began to skate with his child. He stretched back into an arabesque and looked down at where the child would be. The emotions he had been feeling suddenly hit him very hard. As he swung his leg around into a spin, he felt the tears falling down his cheeks.

He continued with the program, his eyes blurred by tears. His triples turned into singles but they were still clean. He tried to improve his performance score by making it more obvious that he was crying. He was known for telling a story and he was going to make sure the audience and the judges felt as strongly as he did. As he finished the program on his back, he looked up at the lights and laughed before bursting into further tears. His performance was enough to move the judges because his score of 104.5 showed that his performance score made up for his much lower technical score. He was currently in second place after Pravat.

There was a short intermission, where Ren, Omar and Dmitri skated around the rink to warm up some more. Omar made every possible effort to pretend that Dmitri and Ren did not exist on the ice with him. Dmitri gave Ren a nod of affirmation but then focused on his own warm up, doing a couple quad salchows and earning cheers from the audience. Ren was unsure if he was doing that to be intimidating or because he was still not comfortable with that move.

After the warmup ended, the Altins left the rink and Ren was left. He took off his jacket and handed it to Yuri. His costume, which he had inherited from his father, sparkled. His coach gave him a few words of encouragement along the lines of “kick ass and leave it all on the ice” before turning him to the center of the rink.

It was time for his waltz.

This time he imagined Omar dancing the waltz with him. At first, he was afraid to think that way after the way that Omar had reacted a few days prior. But then he knew that he could not skate properly if he did not imagine skating about love with the person he knew he was in love with. Now that he could admit it to himself, it was much easier to show what he wanted to with this program.

Perhaps he had always imagined Omar dancing with him. He was the only one who ever felt right. Ren had tried to imagine any generic person to dance with before and it felt so fake. This time, it felt natural. It felt like the love between his parents.

He had been ambitious again, deciding to attempt four quads in this program. However, this time, he had gone through it with his coach ahead of time instead of springing it on him at the last minute. Yuri approved of the changes and made sure he practiced those quads whenever he was not sleeping. It ended up being useful as he felt more confident on his increased stamina.

However, the increased energy that came from being in a competition was not enough to fully give him the stamina he needed to complete those four quads. His last quad, a quad loop, ended with his hip hitting the ground. He quickly pushed back up and continued the skate ending in the final pose with his arm reaching out to where Omar was standing. Omar was looking down at his skates, his eyes focused on his skate ahead. Ren’s score of 119.9 put him in first place.

Omar took a deep breath before he skated out to the middle of the rink, not acknowledging the audience. As he got into his beginning pose, he closed his eyes, trying to block all the thoughts that were crowding his mind. And the program began.

The song started off slow and he used beautiful arabesques to show off his flexibility. As the song began to pick up, he took advantage of his strength in spins, starting with a flying sit spin that transformed into a Biellman. He did not have the long, thin, flowing arms that his brother had inherited from Yuri, but he still made himself look beautiful on the ice. He kept his hair down and it flowed around like it had a life of its own. His face was focused, showing the determination to win. However, his mind was not as focused.

Ren had definitely been pointing at him at the end of his skate, Omar kept thinking. It could have just been coincidence that his skate ended with him standing in that direction. He had seen the performance before and knew that he had pointed in different directions depending on where he ended. So, it had to be coincidence that those fingers pointed in his direction.

He had his mind so focused on Ren that he did not realize that he had missed a planned triple lutz. When he realized that he had been daydreaming during his skate and that he had missed that part in the song, he quickly changed the program around, adding the triple salchow followed by a single loop and a double lutz for extra measure. In his haste, he fell forward and touched the ice before pushing off and skating again. He was off and he knew he had messed up horribly. He probably could do all the quads in the world and not be able to make up.

Ren and Dmitri were going to beat him because he could not focus.

Omar’s score was 117.9. He groaned and stormed away from the kiss and cry, refusing to talk to any of the reporters that hounded him. He did not bother watching his younger brother’s program.

Dmitri took a deep breath allowing his mind to become blank, as he did before every performance. Thinking while skating would be a distraction his father always said. Dmitri had to become a beautiful monster that skated perfectly and in order to do that, he could not let his human emotions affect anything. He was here to win. He held a world record and he was the favorite to win the Grand Prix and repeat history. He was here to fulfill his legacy.

The music began and Dmitri spun around. Hand close to his heart, he began to make his first circle around before doing his first of four quads. He knew Ren had been trying to do so in his short program and had not been successful. But Dmitri knew he would. He had to. His father was counting on him. He had plans to execute each one to get the most points possible. Each jump he had one or two hands in the air. He pushed himself, spinning faster, stretching his legs higher. He wanted to do anything to make him stand out.

He was not just the son of Otabek Altin and Yuri Plisetsky. He was Dmitri Altin and he was going to make history tonight.

And he did. Beating his own world record with a score of 129.9 putting him in first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pravat's Short Program: Kian Nai Jai Raung Nai Pleng by Da Endorphine  
> Elias' Short Program: Monsters Are Such Interesting People from the LOST soundtrack


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long wait between chapters. This one hit me hard with the writers block about halfway through and then I was working the night shift which was not conducive to a normal life. But enjoy!!!

_“The final results for the senior women’s division of the Grand Prix Finals are as shown on the screen.”_

_“Julia Giacometti of Switzerland showed us an amazing set of programs. She has definitely come out of her shell this year, coming from sixth place last year to winning gold this year. She definitely showed us her theme of ‘Confidence.’ It’s like looking at a totally different skater from last year.”_

_“Silver goes to Domenica Crispino of Italy. Despite trying to hold onto her title as champion, she unfortunately lost to Giacometti by a mere 2 points. But the two skaters said they would not let their competitive spirit affect their friendship. Crispino looks forward to competing against Giacometti at Europeans in a month.”_

_“Bronze goes to Lara Tchaikovskaya of Russia with her moving programs. This is her first time on the podium and she is so excited to see what the rest of the season brings her.”_

_“Fourth place went to Louise Leroy of Canada. Fifth place went to Yulia Popovitcha of Russia. And sixth place surprisingly went to Amanda O’Reily of the United States.”_

_“It’s amazing what competition nerves can do to you. The favorite to win the Grand Prix did not do so well in the final competition. The 17 year old admits to having an anxiety disorder that she had been reluctant to treat that held her back this season but she hopes to seek treatment and do better in time for Nationals and Four Continents.”_

_“Tomorrow night will be the free program for the junior men’s division and the following night will be for the senior men’s division. With Dmitri Altin way ahead after the short program and Omar Altin and Ren NIkiforov close together in second and third, it will be interesting to see how the free skate will be. Not to mention all the surprises we’ll have from Pravat Chulanant, Elias Giacometti and Jean-Jacques Leroy Jr. At this point, anyone can take the gold. We look forward to seeing their programs.”_

__  


After hanging out with Piotr and Jr at the hotel bar for a while, Ren announced that he was tired after a long day competing and decided to go back up to his hotel room to turn in for the night. As the excitement of a competition day came down, along with the high that came along with it, Ren realized how sore and tired his body was. His mind was exhausted, after being on overdrive from excitement and anxiety. He always slept well after a competition day.

On the elevator, he ran into Julia Giacometti and Domenica Crispino. They were both obviously intoxicated and holding onto each other, barely being able to stand up. He made sure both ladies got back to Julia’s room safely and congratulated them on their first and second place wins. They thanked him, giggling and closed the door behind them. 

He took the stairs up one floor to get to his own and walked down the hallway to his room. However, just as he was about to put his key card in the slot to open the door, he stopped, hearing the angry voices inside. He instantly recognized Yuri’s angry snarls and Omar’s gruff retorts. He knew he should have walked away and gave them their privacy but he could not help but put his ear against the door and listened.  

“This isn’t some hobby. This is your career. And you need to start taking it more seriously,” Yuri was saying.

“I am taking it seriously!” Omar replied.

“You weren’t today. You looked like your mind wasn’t even on the ice. You can’t afford to be distracted for even a second. Not with the Olympics on the line. If you have another fuck up like you did today, there’s no way you’re going to qualify. Dmitri and Ren are leagues ahead of you this year.”

“I’m just as good as them!”

“You have been stagnant for the past several years. Dmitri and Ren keep improving and you’re still the same. You have the best figure skater in history as your coach. I’d expect better of you. Dmitri is taking advantage of Viktor’s guidance and pulling out amazing performances.”

“Will you _stop_ comparing me to Dmitri?!” Omar yelled. “I am not Dmitri. And I hate that you think I’ll ever compare to him in your eyes when it’s so obvious that he’s your favorite son. And don’t give me that look, Pops. Everyone knows it. He’s really your son so of course you would favor him. That’s why you were so invested in him when he was younger. That’s why he’s better than me now.”

“Dmitri is better than you because he is focused on skating. When you were his age, you were focused on girls.”

“So, what if I was?! That’s normal for a 15 year old boy. Dmitri is not a normal 15 year old. But what would you know? You weren’t a normal 15 year old either.”

“No but my circumstances were very different from yours. You have been given the world and every opportunity to flourish. You are fortunate to have two parents who love you and support you in everything you do.”

Omar scoffed.

“Excuse me?” Yuri asked.

“You made me into this. You wanted me to be just like you and you were mad because I’m my own person. That’s why you favor Dmitri. Because he’s a little version of you. He’s a recreated Yuri Plisetsky. That’s all you wanted. Someone to continue your perfect little legacy. Well, guess what, Pops, I’m making my own legacy and I don’t need you or your fame to get me there. So, excuse me if I’m not perfect but I work my ass off and that should be enough for you. How many people can say that their son consistently makes it to the podium in every competition they’ve been in since his senior debut?”

Yuri was silent for a moment because Omar’s voice had changed as he was shouting at his father. There was a shuffling of movement and Ren backed away from the door as it opened. He looked at Yuri who had a disappointed look on his face.

“Sorry. I just got here,” Ren said quietly.

Yuri shook his head. “Just do something about him. He’s crying like a baby,” he muttered before walking out.

Ren turned his attention to Omar who sat on the bed, his knees curled up under his chin. A trail along his cheek gave away the fact that he had started crying. Ren’s chest burned at the sight as he walked forward. He reached out his arm to lay it on Omar’s shoulder. Omar immediately swung his hand, swatting it away.

“Leave me alone,” he mumbled before getting off the bed and storming out the door.

He did not come back til late after Ren had fallen asleep that night.

\---

Omar was not at public practice the next morning. Ren wanted to ask Yuri about it but decided against it. If Omar had not said anything to Ren, there was no way he would have said anything to his father after their fight the night before. Then again, Omar was not really speaking to Ren lately to begin with.

“No I haven’t heard from Omar since yesterday’s short program,” Jr said when Ren asked him on the rink. “Is he all right?”

“It’s just not like him to miss out on a practice opportunity,” Ren shrugged.

“You’re his best friend,” Jr frowned. “Of all people, you should know where he is.”

Ren’s shoulders slumped. “We’re kinda in the middle of a fight right now. I totally messed up. And I think it’s messing with him and his ability to skate to his fullest.”

“Well out of all of us, Omar is very good at leaving his emotional baggage at home when he needs to,” Jr said. He skated a little faster, ahead of Ren and went into a double axel. The audience that was watching clapped. He doubled back to Ren.

“Me on the other hand, I let all my baggage out on the ice,” he said.

“You have baggage?” Ren chuckled. “You seem to be the most put together guy ever.”

Jr shook his head. “We all got our secrets and our personal things we’re trying to work through. That’s what makes us human.”

“Well I’m nervous that Omar’s secrets are starting to pile on to a point where he can’t handle it,” Ren sighed. “I just wish there was some way to help him.”

“He’ll come to you when he’s ready,” Jr smiled. “But you shouldn’t let your worries over him stop you from winning this competition. You guys are friends but that doesn’t mean that you should make it easy for him to win.”

“You’re right,” Ren smiled. He turned around, skating backwards to build up momentum and then went into a quad toe loop. As he spun in the air, he felt free and weightless. This was his favorite part about skating, being able to fly through the air. He felt superhuman.

“Nice one,” Jr nodded. “Just make sure that you angle your foot a little more out when you take off so you can get more rotations in a shorter amount of time.”

“Thanks,” Ren grinned.

“It’s funny. We’re all competitors and rivals and have been competition against each other for years, but in a way, we have all helped each other grow because we are friends.”

“It’s funnier that we’re closer friends that your dad and my coach ever were.”

“Yuri just struggles with making friends is what my dad used to tell me. But he’s come a long way apparently. Being with Otabek seemed to chill him out apparently. It’s amazing what falling in love can do to you.”

Ren chuckled. Jr didn’t even know how hard his statement hit home.

“And it’s beautiful when that love comes out in skating,” Jr added. “I’m actually curious, Ren. Your programs have a lot more emotion to them this year. Care to comment on who the lucky lady is?”

Ren nearly tripped over his skates. “There is no lady,” he responded. It wasn’t a lie.

“I’m just teasing,” Jr smirked. “You can keep your secrets. I’ve been keeping a big one for six months now. Unless you understand the stories that I’ve been conveying in my programs this year.”

“Your theme is growing up. The programs go along with that.”

“The stages of life. I’m moving from one to the next,” Jr explained. He stopped skating, placing a hand on the side of the rink. Ren did the same. “I’m going to be a father soon.”

Ren’s jaw dropped. “What?!”

Jr laughed. “Janiah and I have been keeping it a secret from the media but she’s six months pregnant. And I’m planning to propose to her at Worlds after she has the baby.”

“Oh my god, that’s amazing though!” Ren smiled. “Why are you keeping it a secret?”

“Because my parents are upset,” Jr rolled his eyes. “They say we’re being ‘dishonorable’ for having sex before marriage. But I’m not as all strict and catholic like they are.”

Jr sighed. “Piotr doesn’t even know and he’d kill me if he found out I told you first. But it feels good to get it off my chest. Janiah’s always struggled having a boyfriend who is a professional athlete. She never asked to be in the spotlight. She is enjoying being hidden for a while. But I’m still skating for her like I always have. Her and Madeline Isabella Leroy.”

Jr winked and then took off again, leaving Ren to contemplate who he was skating for.

\---

“You’re going to do amazing,” Julia Giacometti said, giving Elias a hug. “I hope to see you doing your exhibition skate with me tomorrow night.”

“I don’t think I’ll get to the podium,” Elias chuckled as he pushed his overly affectionate little sister away.

“Not with that attitude,” Julia huffed. “It’s still anyone’s game. And you are going to amaze the judges and climb your way to the top. You’re a Giacometti after all. We never do things half way.”

“That’s for sure,” Elias chuckled.

“Good luck, Eli,” Julia winked before turning Elias around and pushing him onto the ice.

For his free skate, he was wearing a dark red top with long sleeves that flared at the ends and dark pants. His curled hair was straightened and slicked back. His face had a black tear underneath one eye, the same color as the black lipstick on his face. 

The [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZNqaAh6iLU) began with a single piano playing a solemn tune. He kept his head low as she skated around. As the music picked up, and strings were added, he began to go into a combination spin, still keeping everything slow and exaggerated. It was a sad story and he wanted to convey that emotion. To have everything he could have ever wanted in life and still not be happy. At what cost would he sacrifice to live this façade? Was he truly making himself happy or was it for everyone around him? As the song reached its climax, he made his moves more sharp and dramatic, expressing his pain of not feeling like he was living his life the way he wanted. He was living the life created for him. His own personal nightmare.

 He choreographed this free skate himself. It was his first time choreographing but it was the best way he could expressed what he had been holding in for years. The nightmare that he had been living since he was a child that he had smothered deep down. And now he just skated. He skated it all out.

_“And I won’t feel a thing…”_

Elias finished his skate with his face buried in his hands. He had not realized that he was crying. It was partially due to exhaustion and relief for finishing his first Grand Prix Final, but also because he realized he should stop living for anyone but himself. He had choreographed this for himself. And it was just the beginning.

The applause was deafening. Elias skated to the edge of the rink where his coach greeted him with a hug.

“That’s the best performance you ever gave, Eli,” his coach said.

Eli burst into tears.

Jr was up next. He made a sign of the cross as he skated forward. He pictured Janiah back home in Canada, probably sitting in front of the television, ready to watch him perform. He smiled to himself, looking forward to this competition to be over so he could be with her again. _This is for you_ , he thought as he got in his starting pose. _You and our little Madeline._

The[ music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP0lSYG0ziw) was a beautiful violin piece with a piano accompaniment. It felt magical, almost like a fairy tale. The prince falling in love with his princess. Living happily ever after. This is what he felt when he was with Janiah. They had been in love for years since that day Janiah was at the skating rink with her friends where Jr was practicing. She had gone there for fun, a way to spend a Saturday afternoon. She was mesmerized by Jr’s moves as he skated around her. He was taken away by her smile and her shining dark eyes. She fell on the ice many times, having rarely skated before. Jr went over to help her up when he introduced himself. He helped her keep her balance as they skated around the rink. He ignored his coach who was upset that he was wasting valuable practice time just before his senior debut. But when he saw the look on Jr’s face, he knew that he would give him a break. After skating around, Jr asked Janiah if he could take her out for coffee sometime. She gave him his number and the rest was history.

As Jr went into the second half the program, he thought about when he realized that he wanted to marry Janiah. They had woken up one spring morning as the light was shimmering through the blinds. Janiah, her face covered with her hair was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She opened her eyes when she sensed him looking at her and blushed, giggling. After all these years, she was still so happy to wake up next to him. And Jr knew that he wanted to wake up next to her the rest of his life.

Having a baby together kept things busy for the two of them, especially while Jr was busy preparing for the skating season. So, he held off on proposing to her. But he hoped, as Janiah watched his performances on the television, as he told his stories, this one was clear. He went down on one knee at the end of the performance and held his hands to his heart. She had better not be surprised when she was holding their daughter in her arms and Jr was down on one knee in front of her.

His score was above Elias’, currently putting him in first place. He grinned, proud of everything he had accomplished so far.

Pravat removed the earphones from his ears and the roar of the audience took him by surprise. He shook his head, trying to keep his focus. He took off his jacket, handing it to his coach who gave him a reassuring pat on the back. He then took to the ice.

Up in the stands, Yuuri and Phichit sat next to each other. They had tried their best to blend in with everyone else, wanting the focus to be on the skaters and not them. They were old news and their sons were the ones that were supposed to be in the spotlight.

“Pravat’s come a long way,” Yuuri was saying. “You should be proud.”

“I am proud,” Phichit nodded. “He’s done well for himself. I wish he wouldn’t retire but he wants to focus on my show. He has just as much love for it as I do.”

“You’ve done so well with your show, too, Phichit. It’s going to be amazing when Pravat takes it on an international tour,” Yuuri smiled.

“I can’t wait,” Phichit said. “Though I wish he had as much motivation to find himself a wife.”

Yuuri laughed. “There’s no need to push him right now.”

“I was his age when he was born,” Phichit reminded him. “But that boy has never really showed interest in anyone.”

“He’ll find someone if he wants,” Yuuri assured him. “Piotr’s older, remember? And he still hasn’t found himself a wife. I can’t even get him to move out of the house. And Ren has barely dated anyone.”

“Yeah but your kids are socially awkward like you,” Phichit teased.

“And you’ve set the bar high, Yuuri! You and Victor are a perfect couple that no one could compare to!” another voice said.

Phichit and Yuuri turned to their left to see Chris Giacometti and his husband sitting down next to them.

“Victor told me you guys were sitting back here. Glad I could find you. Why aren’t you sitting up front?” Chris asked.

“Yuuri didn’t want to be seen,” Phichit explained. Yuuri turned red.

“Same old Yuuri,” Chris chuckled. “Hope you don’t mind if we joined to watch the rest of the competition, do you?”

“Of course not,” Yuuri smiled. “Elias did an amazing job, didn’t he?”

“And Julia was amazing! Congratulations!” Phichit added.

“They are good kids, aren’t they?” Chris grinned. “I couldn’t be prouder. They both really let it all out on the ice.”

“Wouldn’t it be cool if both your kids win gold, like Yuuri’s kids did at Worlds?” Phichit asked.

Chris chuckled. “As much as I’d love for Eli to win gold, he’s still got a long way to go. This is only his first Grand Prix Final. And he’s got a lot to learn before he could be in the leagues of Pravat or Ren. But he’s young. He’s got time.”

Chris sat back as Pravat began his performance. The audience cheered and clapped along with the familiar song from the “Phichit on Ice” Show. Pravat was in top form for this performance. Every jump was flawless and every spin was crisp. When he finished, a huge grin spread across his face. He bowed with a wave of grandeur to the audience before skating off to the kiss and cry.

“Hey I just realized,” Phichit said suddenly. “All the competitors this year are the sons of those of us who competed the first time I made it to the finals.”

“You’re right,” Chris nodded. “Yuuri’s kid, your kid, my son, JJ’s kid, Plisetsky and Altin’s boys. It’s like a blast from the past.”

“We’ve so old,” Yuuri groaned.

Pravat’s score not only put him currently in first place but it was also a personal best. He punched a fist in the air with excitement. It was a perfect way for him to end this series.

There was a short intermission while the Russian skaters made their way onto the rink for a warm up. It was the first time that Ren saw Omar since the morning when Omar rushed out of the room early on without a word. He tried to skate close to his best friend but Omar continued to ignore him, his face focused. Ren slowed to a stop in confusion. He knew that Omar could get really serious when it came to skating but he was never the type to shut everyone out while he was warming up. In fact, the two always warmed up together, giving each other motivation to do their best. He sighed before he began to skate forward again. He sped up so that he could catch up with Omar. He did not even look at his best friend as he skated ahead of him. He kicked his leg back, getting ready to do an axel. He was so focused on what Omar was doing, however, that he had forgotten to swing his leg forward with enough momentum to bring him around for any more than one turn. Having planned to do a double axel, he landed facing the opposite direction of what he had anticipated and in his confusion, lost his balance.

His hip burned when it hit the ice. He slid to a stop. Omar skated right up to him and stopped. He held out his hand and helped Ren up.

“Thanks man,” Ren smiled, not willing to let go of Omar’s hand.

Omar nodded and skated forward without a word. Ren watched his back, sad that there was still that hint of anger and confusion in Omar’s eyes and that he still refused to speak to him. Ren was not sure how much longer he could tolerate their silence and vowed to talk once this competition was over.

Dmitri skated up to him. “You all right, Ren?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Ren said, massaging his hip a little. “It’ll probably be bruised but nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“Maybe when we get back to Russia, we can practice together and I’ll help you with your axels. I need help with my salchows and you do them so well,” Dmitri suggested.

Ren nodded with a smile. “Sounds like a plan.”

After the warm up concluded, Dmitri and Ren left the rink where Omar was alone. He took off his jacket revealing his costume. His costume was a single piece with dark pants which slowly faded into a bright red color up top. Sequins garnished his chest and his shoulders were decorated with feathers. It looked like flames rising up his body, in tune with the energy rising up within his soul. His long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

The song began with a single acoustic guitar playing a solemn tune and Omar began his program with simple, graceful moves, allowing his arms to sway with the music. As other guitars began to join, he moved into a spin sequence, stretching himself upwards as he spun faster. That was when the music really revved up with electric guitars and drums. That was when Omar let everything out.

Jumps, spins, step sequence. Everything was precise. His energy increased with the music. Everything he felt was being left out on the ice. While he had always been a graceful fairy on the ice, now he was only showing passion. Passion for skating. Passion for the competition. Passion to win.

He was going to win this competition.

Doubles were now triples. Triples were now quads. He was taking all the risks. He did not care. He felt the confidence flow through him as the program continued. He was going to show them all. He was going to show his father. He worked hard to get to this point and he was going to achieve greater than anyone ever imagined. He was not going to be in the shadow of his parents or his brother. He was going to show the world his strength.

The song came to its climax as he began to clump all his jumps in the second half for greater points. His arms and legs screamed at him but he ignored them. The adrenaline was keeping him going. He was going to finish this strong. And as the song faded to quietness, he went into his final spin sequence before ending abruptly, slamming his foot on the ice to stop the spinning.

That was when sound returned to his ears. The audience was roaring. Exhausted, Omar fell to his knees, tears filling his eyes. He barely had any energy to get back up. When he did, he skated toward the edge of the rink where Victor was waiting for him with a wide grin on his face. Otabek was next to him, a proud smile on his face.  Omar collapsed into Victor’s hug and let his coach and father guide him to the Kiss and Cry.

“That was your best performance ever!” Victor gushed.

Otabek nodded. “I’m so proud of you, Omar.”

When Omar’s score came up, his personal best, his lower jaw dropped in shock. He knew he had done well but he had not realized he had done _that_ well. He felt both Victor and Otabek clap him on the back and give their congratulations.

However, as Omar looked around for his other father, the man he really wanted praise from, he found that Yuri was busy talking with Ren as he prepared for his performance.

“Remember that every performance gets you one step closer to Grenoble,” Yuri said to his student.

Ren nodded, taking off his jacket.

“Ignore Omar’s score. You’ve scored higher than that before,” Yuri barked.

Ren nodded, rubbing his hip which was still sore.

“And don’t you dare pull any stupid surprise moves, especially with your hip being the way it is,” Yuri demanded. “Now go out there and kick ass.”

Ren wrapped his arms around himself after he made his way to the middle of the rink. He waited for the familiar music to begin. As the music began, he spread his arms out and then up, feeling his hands shake. This song was about the pain of love and he now understood why he chose it. Loving Omar and begin rejected was a horrible pain that ripped through his body and kept his mind racing. He skated that pain now, hoping Omar would be able to see it, be able to understand his emotions.

As he went for the double axel toward the end of the program, one that he and his coach had decided to keep since he had done so well at the NHK trophy, he was hit with a twinge of pain in his hip, reminding him of the fall he had taken during warm up. He quickly turned around on his skate and went for a triple lutz. His hand touch the ground as he landed but he had enough rotations. He cursed himself inwardly at making that change especially when Yuri had specifically told him not to and also that making that last minute changed threw him off balance.

He normally would not let these sorts of things shake him. However, seeing Omar’s performance and how perfect it was caused his mind to drift onto thoughts of the other skater. He wanted to beat his rival so badly but he knew from the second his hand touched down on the ice that this was not going to happen. His only hope was to not mess up for the rest of the program and to not let the one mistake mess with his mind for his final jump.

Thankfully he made his quad salchow flawlessly and he was able to finish the performance after a beautiful spin sequence. His arms raised to the air, he breathed a sigh of relief that he was done. As quickly as it had started, it was over.

His score fell just three points below Omar’s. Ren felt like his heart fell all the way down to the bottom of his stomach. Yuri placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“There’s still many more competitions to go this season. You’ve got this,” he muttered.

Ren frowned at his coach. Yuri’s demeanor with him was so much lighter than with his own son.

The crowed screamed as Dmitri took the ice. It was clear that he was the favorite to win. And he had a very good chance of that happening too. That was, unless something happened during the performance and he messed up.

Dmitri shook his head to clear it of negative thoughts. There was no way that was going to happen. He had not made a single mistake in any performance this season and tonight was not going to be first.

The techno song began and the audience clapped along. He made sure each move was strong and precise. As the performance continued, he made sure every spin, every step sequence, and every jump was to the maximum points offered. As the song sped up, he threw all his energy into the performance. The audience cheered with every jump, including a triple loop which he did with two arms raised. He was creating his own legacy. The world was going to know Dmitri Altin’s name.

When the performance ended, he was aware of his heart beating all the way up to his ears. His arms and legs burned and trembled. But he could tell from the roar of the audience that he had just made history that night.

Dmitri’s score was announced and the score board went up, showing how the Grand Prix Final would end. Dmitri had beat Ren by a solid ten points and became the Grand Prix Final champion at age fifteen, a feat that neither Omar nor Ren were able to achieve until they were much older.

It was very familiar, standing up at the podium. But what felt different was being on the right of the champion, at the lowest step, receiving the bronze medal. He had not received a bronze medal in a competition since he was 15 and made his senior debut. Ren bowed respectfully as the medal was placed over his head and on his shoulders but he could feel his body trembling. He was sure that his emotions of love were conveyed in his short program. He had not made any mistakes. And somehow, Omar’s determination and Dmitri’s legacy were stronger.

It took a lot of effort not to cry on international television.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elias' Free Skate: "Everything You Ever" - Dr. Horrible   
> Jr's Free Skate: "Prologue" from Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi


	11. Chapter 11

Ren stared at the mirror as he tightened the bowtie around his neck. He could see in the reflection where Omar was sitting on his bed, looking away, out the window. The two of them had barely spoken the whole time they had been in London, despite staying in the same hotel room. And the longer the silence lasted between the two of them, the more awkward it became. Ren was not sure what had been going through Omar’s mind since that day they skated together in Russia and Omar ran off. He was more than sure of what had been going on in his own mind and it made it even harder to be going this long without talking to his best friend.

Now they both had to deal with the banquet that night, filled with polite banter and glasses of champagne as well as stuffy, fancy outfits. Ren sighed, staring at his reflection. The half-Japanese, half-Russian man stared back at him with bags underneath his eyes. His skin was remarkably paler than usual. His dark grey hair that he attempted to slick back with gel was already coming loose. He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

“Need some help?” Omar asked.

Ren turned around to see that Omar was now reaching into his suitcase. He pulled out a bottle of vodka and gestured it toward Ren who pursed his lips.

“I don’t know…” he muttered. “We’re gonna have champagne at the banquet.”

“That champagne ain’t gonna do nothing,” Omar responded. “This entire Grand Prix has been an utter mess and I just don’t want to remember any part of it anymore.”

“But we made the podium…”

“We lost to my fifteen year old brother. His voice hasn’t changed yet and he’s already winning international competitions. It’s just not fair. Pops and Victor are gonna give him so much more attention now and our chances of getting to Grenoble will be harder. What’s the point of celebrating getting to the podium? We always get to the podium. But we don’t lose to anyone.”

He then opened the bottle and tilted it back, taking a swig. “I know this makes me a Russian stereotype but I’m gonna drink all the vodka I damn well please tonight. And I really want you to join me, Ren.”

Ren sighed and walked forward, reaching his arm out to take the bottle. He tilted his head back to have a swing, cringing as he felt the burn go down his throat and into his stomach.

“How do you drink this stuff?” he asked.

“Once you drink enough,” Omar said darkly, “you don’t feel anything at all.”

The two skaters had more than their fair share of vodka by the time Yuri and Otabek knocked on their door, informing them that it was time to go down to the banquet. Ren stood up from the bed, feeling the effects of the alcohol as the room moved a bit. Omar rolled his eyes, muttering something about how the Japanese can’t hold their alcohol. He opened the door to see his parents, putting on a smile.

“We’ll be down there soon,” he said slowly, trying his best not to slur his words. “We’re just waiting for Piotr and Jr. They should be over soon.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow. “You guys better not be planning some pre-banquet drinking. I don’t want you guys making an embarrassment of our team.”

“We’d never do that, Pops,” Omar smirked. “Besides, there is free champagne downstairs. Why would I bother drinking beforehand?”

“Because you did it last year at Worlds,” Yuri reminded him. “You mess things up here, you can kiss you chance at Grenoble goodbye. Dmitri has been much better behaved at public events.”

Omar rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Whatever…”

“Let’s go, Beka,” Yuri said, leaving.

“Be right there,” Otabek said as Yuri walked away. He then leaned close to Omar. “Listen, I can smell the alcohol on your breath. I don’t care if you drink or not but just don’t do anything stupid or embarrassing.”

“Like the millions of things Pops has done when he was my age?” Omar asked. “He doesn’t get to act like he’s some fucking saint who’s perfect.”

“He’s still your father and one of the coaches on your team so you have to respect him as such,” Otabek reminded him.

“He’s not really my father…” Omar rolled his eyes.

“Omar, that’s enough,” Ren said, reaching forward to put an arm on his friend’s shoulder.

However as soon as he made contact, Omar flinched away, his eyes glaring at Ren. “Don’t you take Äke’s side on this!” he shouted. “You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“I’ll make sure he sobers up a little before coming downstairs with him,” Ren promised.

“Both of you should,” Otabek said. “Ren, you do not hold your alcohol well. You’re very much like your fathers in that way. I’m gonna get going because I don’t want to keep Yura waiting.”

Otabek closed the door, leaving Omar fuming.

“I’m an adult. I know exactly how to take care of myself. Come on, Ren. We’re going to the banquet now.”

“Are you sure we should?” Ren asked. “We are a little drunk. We should wait to sober up a little.”

“Nope, the only way to make this stupid banquet bearable is to go there with the alcohol in our blood. I really don’t want reporters to ask me how I feel losing to my little brother. Maybe if I’m drunk enough, they’ll give me a wide berth and I will be fine.”

He grabbed his hotel key and opened the door, gesturing for Ren to go ahead of him. Ren sighed and did so with Omar following him. He was not sure if he liked this drunken, angry version of Omar but it certainly beat the one that had been giving him the silent treatment for the past week and a half.

Down at the banquet, Piotr and Jr were already there, standing by the champagne table. Ren and Omar joined them and accepted the flukes of champagne that were offered to them.

“Isn’t there a better place for you guys to hang out?” Omar asked.

“I’m trying to scope out the ladies. They’re all gonna come by here at some point so we can be the gentlemen we are and hand them a glass as we introduce ourselves,” Piotr explained.

“That’s right,” Jr smirked. “They all know I’m taken but I can use my fame to help introduce them to my buddy here. It’s foolproof. You wanna join us?”

“Sure, sounds good,” Omar shrugged. He side eyed Ren who could not help the look of disappointment on his face.

They watched as the banquet room began to fill up with more people. Dmitri was definitely getting the most attention from reporters as the champion and the second fifteen year old to hold that title, after his own father. Ren was grateful for that, not wanting the spotlight to be on him. Eventually, as people became more comfortable with their drinks, some folks began dancing on the dance floor. Piotr and Jr managed to start conversation with two ladies who were ice dancers and then joined them on the dance floor.

Ren and Omar were each on champagne number three and that combined with the vodka they had drank earlier was really starting to affect them. They could no longer hide their slurred speech.

“We should go elsewhere,” Ren suggested. “Where people won’t notice us. I’m sure our parents would be pissed if they realized that we are this drunk after three champagnes.”

Omar chuckled. “They wouldn’t be surprised if you were this drunk. There’s a reason Yuuri only has a glass or two at these events. My parents told me stories about when your dads were younger and would get drunk together. Some of the stories were really disturbing.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to know,” Ren muttered.

“Like the time Victor ended up naked on top of a building,” Omar continued.

“Don’t want to know!” Ren said a little louder, putting his hand up to Omar’s face.

Omar laughed, swatting Ren’s hand away.

“Dude, why have you been ignoring me the past week?” Ren asked suddenly, the alcohol preventing him from holding back the question that had been on his mind.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“Since that day we were skating together and you disappeared,” Ren said. “You have barely looked at me, never mind talked with me. Did I do something wrong?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Nikiforov,” Omar assured him. “You are absolutely perfect just the way you are. Come on, let’s go dance.”

Ren was unsure about Omar’s sudden change in subject but he did not protest as Omar grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the dance floor. His heart beat fast at the touch and as they began dancing together, it took so much restraint for Ren to not pull him close. He was much more confident in his feelings toward his best friend but he had no idea what the other would even think about the idea of Ren being in love with him. He would probably be freaked out by it.

“There you are!” Victor said, grinning as he joined the two. “I thought you guys snuck off on your own. Come join us. I think the Yuris are about to have another dance competition.”

“There’s no way Tousan would agree to that,” Ren said.

“He does when he’s had quite a few glasses of champagne,” Victor winked. “I think I’ve lost track how many I’ve passed to him but it’s worth it.”

“Oh, my God, Dad! You did not!” Ren gasped in horror.

“It’s a night to have fun,” Victor laughed. “No need to be all stuffy. Besides, it’s quite obvious that you two have had your fair share of drinks as well.”

“Vitya, take my jacket,” came Yuuri’s voice.

They all turned to the center of the dance floor which had spread out to make space for Yuuri and Yuri. They were facing each other, ready to duel it out. Yuri removed his jacket as well.

“Beka, come take mine as well,” he said. “Time to make up for the embarrassment that was our last dance off.”

“You mean at your wedding?” Yuuri laughed, his voice slurring. “When I kicked your ass. It’s on. I’ll beat you again, like I’ve beaten you every time.”

“I doubt it, old man. You’re much porkier than the last time while I’ve remained thin and muscular. It’s time for me to take you down.”

“This is so embarrassing,” Omar groaned.

“For you and me both,” Otabek muttered next to him.

“Why are you letting him do this, Äke?” Omar asked.

“Have you ever been able to stop your father from doing something he was determined to do?” Otabek deadpanned.

“This is true…”

The song started and the two Yuris began their dance off. Yuri Plisetsky had started off with ballet-inspired turns and jumps. Yuuri Katsuki-Nikiforov went for more of a breakdancing route, hitting the floor a couple times. It was clear that some of his joints were not as forgiving as he would like.  Victor cheered. Otabek pressed a finger to his lips in thought. The crowd around them applauded. Ren covered his eyes in shame. Omar groaned.

“I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life,” he muttered. “I need more alcohol.”

“Come on, Dmitri,” Piotr said, grabbing the younger skater. “I need to defend the family title. Let me show you how Nikiforovs dance.”

“You’ve been drinking too much, Nikiforov,” Dmitri rolled his eyes. But he would never say no to any challenge presented to him, on the ice or off.

Piotr dropped to the floor, attempting a headstand. Dmitri surprised everyone by actually being a decent hip hop dancer. It was a little known fact that he had taken many hip hop classes in addition to his ballet classes. Yuri nodded in approval.

“That’s my son!” he cheered, giving Dmitri a high five.

By this point, Omar had returned with two more flukes of champagne. He handed one to Ren, telling him it was the only way to make this night more bearable. They both chugged their drinks down right away, hoping the images of their parents and brothers dancing like fools were erased from their minds forever.

Yuuri attempted a move on the ground but it was clear that age had finally gotten to him. He could feel his hips cracking and he fell backwards onto his butt. Yuri quickly came over and stepped lightly on his chest, holding his fists in the air as if he were victorious.

“One point for the Altins!” he shouted.

“It’s on!” Piotr shouted, spinning around. He was able to drop down into a modified split, surprising the crowd around him. Dmitri jumped in the air, spinning before going back into a display of body rolls, showing intense isolation between all the muscles of his body.

Otabek leaned close to Victor. “I’d just like to be clear that you and I will not be taking part in this,” he said.

Victor winked. “That’s fine. It’s more fun to watch.”

He glanced at Ren and Omar who were contemplating getting more champagne because they were still acutely aware of everything that was going on around them.

“What about you guys?” he asked.

Ren looked over his shoulder at his father. “What are you talking about?”

“Piotr is probably going to beat Dmitri in this dance off. Yurio beat Yuuri. You guys will need to be the tiebreaker.”

“I don’t know if Piotr is going to win,” Omar blanched, looking at Piotr who had begun more corny moves like the grocery shopper and the garden hose.

“Let’s just see you two,” Victor encouraged, pushing the two of them in the middle of the circle.

The song changed then. Ren looked at Omar who smirked.

“Some competitions don’t need a winner,” he said grabbing Ren’s wrists and pulling him close. He clasped their free hands together and they both began moving their feet to the music, stepping right on count. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3.

“Wait, when did they learn to salsa dance?” Jr frowned. “More importantly, why didn’t they invite me?”

Ren spun Omar around as they danced right to the music. In their competition, there was no loser. They were both winners. Even as inebriated as they were, their natural ability to stay coordinated came in handy as they moved their feet quicker. Ren smiled widely as he gazed into Omar’s eyes. They had not been this close since that day at the ice rink and it confirmed the feelings he held. He could feel his heart swelling to the point of bursting in his chest. He loved Omar. He loved being this close to him. He loved how they were able to be themselves around each other and that they could laugh at each other’s shortcomings and celebrate each other’s strengths. He loved that he had known Omar his whole life and that he would never want a life without him nearby. He loved Omar more than he loved the ice which he would one day leave, when his body could not handle the stress any more. But Omar would still be there.

Omar’s eyes widened when he realized how intently Ren was staring down at him. Even in the low light of the dance floor, it was clear that a light blush had appeared on his cheeks. Ren was no longer held back by anxiety and inhibitions. The alcohol gave him the courage he needed to go forward with what he had been wanting to do for the past week, probably even loner.

And Ren leaned forward to kiss him.

The crowd had a mix of cheers and gasps. Piotr screamed out “I knew it!” But Ren and Omar tuned that out as their lips were pressed together. Omar was the first to break away. He blinked a couple times, trying to understand what was happening. He stopped dancing, staring up at Ren who looked back at him with a worried expression. He could not figure out what was going through Omar’s mind at that moment.

Then Omar let go of Ren and pushed his chest to push him away.

“What the hell was that about?” he shouted.

“Omar…” Ren whispered, his face turning red. “I’m sorry. I thought--”

“That was disgusting!” Omar spat before turning on his heel and running off the dance floor.

The heckles from the crowd were too much for Ren. He quickly ran out of the crowd to and went to the first place where he could find some privacy, the stall of one of the restrooms. There he closed himself off behind a stall and leaned against the wall, so he could allow the tears to begin to fall.

He was sure that Omar had some feelings toward him. He was sure of it. But to get rejected like that, that harshly, hurt worse than holding in his feelings in the first place. He was so stupid to have even tried that. He let his drunkenness get the best of him and now he has made a huge mistake. His friendship with Omar was ruined. He could not even have him as a friend at this point.

“Ren…”

He could hear Yuuri’s voice in the bathroom. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to remain quiet as sobs continued to sneak out.

“Ren, it’s just your father and I,” Yuuri continued. “Can you talk with us?”

“Please open the door, Ren,” Victor asked. “We’ll go up to our hotel room and you can rest and cry all you want and let it all out.”

There was a pause before Ren opened the stall door and looked at his fathers. They sighed at his tear stained face. He quickly ran forward and into their open arms.

“Let’s go,” Victor said, leading them all out of the restroom and to the elevator up to Yuuri and Victor’s room.

They sat Ren down on the king sized bed and took off his bow tie, jacket, and glasses, placing them aside on the dresser. They then sat on either side of him, rubbing his back as he began sobbing uncontrollably.

“I made such a stupid mistake just then,” he cried. “Omar’s gonna hate me forever.”

“Omar wouldn’t hate you,” Yuuri assured him. “I’m sure he’s just as embarrassed as you are about this.”

“It’s all my fault. I thought he felt about me the same way I felt about him,” Ren continued. “But that was just wishful thinking I guess. I shouldn’t have drank so much either.”

“Well, alcohol makes us do stupid stuff sometimes,” Yuuri chuckled. “But at the end of the day, you probably did something you had been wanting to do but were too afraid to. They call it liquid courage for a reason.”

“Maybe there was a reason I was too afraid to do anything about it,” Ren sighed. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so stupid. How am I supposed to face him now?”

“Why don’t you stay with us tonight, Ren?” Victor suggested. “You guys can talk when we’re back in St. Petersburg and you’ve had time to think things over.”

Ren leaned against Victor’s chest. Victor then wrapped his arms around his son. Yuuri hugged them both.

“You are an amazing young man, my Ren,” Yuuri whispered. “Omar would be crazy not to want you.”

Meanwhile, in Yuri and Otabek’s hotel room, Omar was pacing back and forth angrily. His parents were standing on the side wall, arms crossed.

“The nerve of that guy. I’ve been so accepting of him and his gayness and he just assumes that means I’m into him,” he ranted.

“I mean you _are_ into him,” Yuri supplied.

Omar stopped and glared at him. “What are you talking about? I’m not gay.”

“Neither am I,” Yuri continued. “But you don’t have to be gay to fall in love with someone of the same gender. Sometimes it’s just the person who matters, not their gender.”

“It’s true, Omar,” Otabek added. “Yura and I were friends first for a while and it was through getting to know each other that we began a romantic relationship.”

“And then your father fell for me hard and acted all weird and stuff and I didn’t get it. But I really couldn’t imagine my life without Beka. I married him because he was more my family than anyone else in the world and I had grown to love him as a friend and as a partner. And sometimes these things happen without you realizing it until you look back. I probably loved him much longer than I would admit.”

“And you are fortunate to really know Ren and have gotten to know him over so much time,” Otabek added. “We’ve been seeing how you two interact, especially over the past couple of years.”

“Katsudon’s kid has it bad for you, but you aren’t without feelings either,” Yuri said. “You’ve just got too much pride to admit that you developed feelings second. You never wanna be second when it comes to Ren. You wanted it to be your idea, since you’re so stubborn.”

Omar sighed, hating how well Yuri knew him.

“Why don’t you go talk to him?” Otabek suggested. “At least understand where he was coming from. You guys will figure it out. You have gotten through worse fights before. I think you guys can get through this.”

Omar sighed. “Fine. Sorry if we embarrassed you guys.”

“Don’t worry,” Otabek smirked. “Yura embarrassed us enough for both of you.”

“Heyyy!!” Yuri shouted.

Omar chuckled and made his way for the door.

“Omar, wait,” Yuri said, running to his suitcase. He pulled something out and placed it in Omar’s palm. “Just in case you guys make up really well.”

Omar glanced down at the condoms in his hand and his face turned red.

“Why do you guys have this readily available?” he asked.

“It’s very important to have protection,” Yuri reminded him.

“Oh god! I didn’t need that image in my head!” Omar groaned heading outside.

As the door closed, Otabek sighed. “We knew this day would come but did it have to be at the Grand Prix Final banquet?”

Yuri shrugged. “Kids will be kids. I was his age when you confessed to me,” he said. “And it would totally be like the kid of Yuuri and Viktor to try to start something at a Grand Prix banquet.”

“By the way, you didn’t give him all your condoms did you?” Otabek asked.

“Of course not!” Yuri laughed. “We got out of the dumb party early so let’s take full advantage of it being early in the night.”

He then wrapped his arms around his husband and pulled him close for a kiss.

Omar tossed the condoms in the garbage while we waited for the elevator. He had no intention of using them tonight. He always had a feeling that Ren looked at him as more than a friend and while he tried to act natural around him, he knew that being close to his best friend made him uncomfortable. He hated the way his heart pounded and he began to sweat. He hated how he would become incoherent and would not think of anything other than Ren for hours after any of their interactions. Ren was clearly at fault for making him feel so weird which was why Omar had been trying so hard to stay away from him. He had hoped with some time and distance, things would get better but clearly this night was too soon. He was going to have to be forward with Ren and tell him that he had no feelings whatsoever to reciprocate and they should take a break from each other so Ren could take some time to get over Omar. That’s right. It was all for Ren.

When Omar opened the door to his hotel room, he was surprised that it was so silent inside. He stepped in quietly.

“Ren, are you asleep?” he asked as he turned on the light.

The beds were empty. The bathroom door was open with no one inside. Ren was not there. Omar groaned, taking off his bowtie and throwing it on the ground. He took off his suit as well, not caring at that would be wrinkled on the ground. Now in just a tshirt and boxers, he curled into his bed and lay there until his drunkeness finally lulled him to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

_You and your words, obsessed with your legacy,  
_ _Your sentences border on senseless  
_ _And you are paranoid in every paragraph  
_ _How they perceive you…_  
\- “Burn” Hamilton the Musical 

The worst part about winters in Russia was how dark it always was. The sun was barely up before it turned and made its way back down. Nights were long and they did nothing to help the tired, lonely feelings Ren had as he curled up in a ball in his room. He had become recluse since he returned from London. He rarely went out except to use the bathroom or take some food from the kitchen. He barely said more than a few words to his parents or brother. His family did their best the first few days to let him grieve but it was starting to get worrisome.

“You need to be getting ready for nationals,” Piotr reminded him once when Ren was getting a snack from the kitchen.

“What’s the point?” Ren barked. “The Altins are obviously going to beat me.”

“You’ve beat Omar tons of times before,” Piotr reminded him. “And if you work hard enough, you’ll be able to beat Dmitri, too.”

“I’m not in the mood right now. Just let me take a break.”

“You get breaks in the spring when the season’s over!” Piotr replied, waving his hands in the air. “You’re at your peak!”

“Or maybe I’m sinking,” Ren sighed. “Just leave me alone.”

He sulked back up to his room and did not come out for the rest of the day.

The next morning, there was a knock on his door. Even though he did not answer, his father still opened the door after a moment and came in. Yuuri sighed as he saw his son curled up in his bed, his hair messy and peaking out from underneath the blankets. He saw himself laying in that bed, that same anxious young man who would often get plagued by these moments of depression whenever things made a turn for the worst. He knew what was going on in Ren’s mind. Everything was a much bigger deal now than what it should be. Everything was black and white and there was no in between. The world as he knew it was completely different and there was nothing he could do to stop it and there was no one available to help him. He was utterly alone. Even if he told himself all day that there were people around him who loved him and cared about him, Ren felt that he had no one who was there. His mind was in a completely different state.

Yuuri knew that, in that state, Ren was probably not going to listen to reason. But what he could do for his son right now was remind him that he was not alone. He could just repeat the words over and over and hope that the message got across the mind that was clouded with dark thoughts. Yuuri crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached out and ran his fingers through Ren’s hair, waking him up.

Ren barely stirred, his body weak from debilitation and little food.

“I have breakfast,” Yuuri offered, holding up the plate that was in his hand.

“Not hungry…” Ren muttered.

“You need to eat something. Starving yourself is not going to make your situation any better. You gotta take care of the basics first.”

“I’m fine. Leave me alone.”

Yuuri sighed and put the plate down on the bedside table. He then pulled the sheets. Ren’s eyes were red and puffy. He quickly covered his face, mumbling something.

“What was that, sweetheart?”

“I’m so embarrassed, Tousan.”

Yuuri hummed and ran his fingers through Ren’s hair. “You’re not the first one to do something embarrassing in front of someone you love, you know. We all do it. It just becomes a funny story to reminisce on years later.”

“Easy for you to say,” Ren said, pulling the sheets down a little. “You got Dad in the end. You got your happy ever after.”

“It wasn’t much of a happy ever after as you think,” Yuuri admitted. “We’ve had our good days and bad days as any couple does. We’ve had many laughs and tears and fights. But at the end of the day, we talked about our issues instead of hiding away. It took me a long time to learn to open up to someone and learn to do that so I want to tell you now so that you don’t fall into the same trap that I did.”

Ren sighed.

“If you don’t want to talk to me, I want you to talk to someone. It can be your father. It could be your brother or sister. Heck, it could be one of the dogs. You just need to talk to someone.”

“I was just so stupid to think that Omar could ever have feelings for me like that,” Ren blurted, his eyes beginning to water again. “And now he’s disgusted with me and I think I ruined our friendship. I should have just kept my feelings a secret and just been friends with him. It was so obvious that we could never be a thing. But then I had to go and drink and kiss him like the idiot I am.”

“You went by your heart, Ren,” Yuuri said. “And there is nothing wrong with ever doing that. You are not an idiot for acting on your feelings.”

Ren looked at the breakfast and his stomach gave a growl. He blushed and Yuuri chuckled.

“Eat up, Ren.”

Ren nodded and took a bite of the breakfast.

“Do you think Omar and I can be friends again?” he asked.

Yuuri nodded. “I’ve known you both for your whole lives and I don’t think you could live without the other, no matter what kind of relationship you guys have. Just give Omar some time. Think about how scared you were when you realized you were in love with him. He needs time to sort out his own feelings. I’m sure he’ll come to you. But not if you’re locked up in your room like this all day.”

“You’re right…”

“So, it’s time to forgive yourself and start moving forward,” Yuuri said giving a warm smile.

“Thanks, Tousan…” Ren said with a small smile.

He leaned forward to hug his father. Yuuri could hear folks talking outside the room and someone coming up the stairs. He knew exactly who was coming.

“And besides,” Yuuri smiled. “You have to be in good spirits today. We have a visitor.”

Ren looked up at him. “Who’s that?”

The door slammed open then and Victor was standing there with a wide, heart shaped grin. In his arms he held three month old Katya in his arms.

“Ren, get out of bed. Katya is staying with us all day while Erik and Tatiana have a day off!” he squealed with delight. He looked down at the baby in his arms and cooed. “Oh, you’re so happy to spend time with your Dedushka and your Ojisan today, aren’t you, Katenka? And your Dyadya Ren is here to spend the day with us.”

Katya gave a toothless grin in response which caused Victor to squeal in excitement. Ren could not help but let a small smile fall upon his lips. Victor carried Katya over to Ren. He sat up straighter and held out his arms to hold his niece, careful to protect her head which still flopped back sometimes if he was not paying close enough attention. Katya still had the same toothless grin with him, her cheeks bright pink, and he could not help but smile widely back.

“See,” Yuuri nodded. “Katya has this special power where no one can be upset around her. Now come on and get out of bed, Ren. Let’s make today a better day.”

\---

“Happy Birthday to me!!” Victor cheered a few days later. “And there’s no better way to celebrate it than with my family. My beautiful daughter and my three sons, Piotr, Ren and Yuri..”

“Oi, I’m not your son! I’m a grown ass man!” Yuri retorted.

“You will always be family to us, Yurochka,” Victor reminded him with a wink.

Yuri groaned but did not say another word. He just dug his face into the piroshky in front of him. He had made his grandfather’s old recipe of katsudon piroshkies specifically at Victor’s request and decided that was a sufficient gift that year.

“Yuri’s got the right idea,” Piotr laughed from behind Victor. He pulled his father’s ears. “Ha!! Twenty-two!”

Victor immediately shooed him away. Ren, Tatiana and Piotr had been determined to follow the tradition of pulling Victor’s ears 58 times, to celebrate his 58th birthday, no matter how many times he pushed them away. They tried this every year since they were young and they have never managed to get to his age by the end of the day, and each year it’s gotten harder as he has gotten older. But the Nikiforov siblings were determined.

“Go eat your food then, Piotr!” Victor sighed, rubbing his ears.

Piotr quickly sat down on the other side of the table and grabbed a piroshky to put on his plate. Next to him, Tatiana was trying to balance breast feeding Katya in one hand and eating her food in her other hand. Erik was too busy drinking heavy portions of wine to realize that his wife could use his help. Across from him, Dmitri was examining the pork that was inside the piroshky trying to understand the combination of Japanese and Russian cuisine. Otabek was quiet as he enjoyed his food and rubbing Yuri’s back to keep him calm while the blond man angrily ate. Victor sat next to Yuri and Yuuri was on his other side, and had already consumed several helpings of the meal. Across from him was Ren who was plotting his next attempt at grabbing his father’s ears. Between Ren and Piotr was an empty chair where Omar was supposed to sit.

Omar had still not shown up to the birthday gathering. Ren was not surprised. While Omar used to be a regular visitor at the Nikiforov household and would have not thought twice about attending Victor’s birthday celebration (especially given that Victor was his coach), the events at the banquet after the Grand Prix final had changed everything. Omar was doing everything in his power to avoid Ren and any conversation. No one made any comment on Omar’s current absence but it was obvious everyone was thinking it.

 “Hey I’m between Yuri and Yuuri!” Victor exclaimed. “I need to make a wish!”

“You did that on purpose,” Yuri muttered.

“I don’t need to wish for much. I already have everything I could ever want,” Victor added with a wink.

\---

“Goddammit!” Omar swore as he lay back on the ice after flubbing his triple salchow.

“Come on, Omar,” Victor responded, his arms crossed. “You need to focus a little more. Tighten your arms. You know how to do this jump.”

“I know!” Omar shouted. “I know! I know how to do this! I’m just as frustrated as you.”

“Well get up and we’ll run through your program again from the top,” Victor responded, his face without expression.

Omar sat up. “Are you kidding me? I’m exhausted!”

“Good. You can build up your stamina,” Victor shrugged. “Now from the top.”

Omar sighed and got back to a standing position. He began skating toward the center of the rink to begin his free program from the beginning again.

“Omar, come over to the side. It’s 11 o’clock so you have half the rink,” Victor reminded him.

“It’s already 11?” Omar said with a sigh of relief. He only had two more hours of rink time for the day. He could not wait to get back home and crawl into his bed. That’s where he spent most of his time nowadays.

He wondered who from the team was taking the other half of the rink now. It had to be one of the skaters that Yuri coached. Omar groaned at the thought. He hated practicing when his father was at the rink and watching him. It just put on extra unneeded pressure.

The doors to the rink opened and Omar turned to see who it was. His shoulders slumped when he realized that it was Ren coming into the rink with Yuri. He had been lucky so far as to not run into him at all since they left London. Ren looked up at Omar and their eyes met for the first time in over a week. Omar clenched and unclenched his hand, feeling suddenly very antsy. Ren was the first one to break the stare as he sat down to put on his ice skates.

“Altin!” Victor shouted, clapping his hands. “Focus already!”

Omar nodded and began his performance from the top. He did everything in his power not to look in Ren’s direction but he could feel Ren’s gaze on him.

“So much for avoiding unneeded pressure,” he muttered under his breath as he went for the first jump of his program.

Normally, Omar had no problem being the center of attention. While he was a competitor, he was also an entertainer and was used to being in front of thousands of people, performing his best. But now, he had three people watching him that he felt the most pressure not to mess up in front of. He did not want his coach to make him start from the beginning. He did not want Yuri to think he was a failure of a skater. He did not Ren to think that he had gotten to him.

And with all that added stress clouding his mind, he missed his next jump and went directly into a spin sequence.

“Omar what are you doing?” Victor shouted.

Omar stopped and stared at his coach. “What was wrong?” he asked.

“Are you trying to change your program on your own?” Victor asked. “At least tell me beforehand.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Omar frowned.

“The quad toe loop….”

Omar sighed. “Sorry, I forgot it. I’ll start from the top.”

“No, you’re taking a break,” Victor decided. He skated over to Omar, grabbed his arm and dragged him off the rink past Ren and Yuri who were making their way onto the rink. As the groups passed by each other, Omar’s shoulder brushed against Ren’s. Omar’s heart was pounding and he felt like he was going to be sick.

Omar put his skate guards on and followed Victor up to the seats where they sat down and watched as Ren skated laps to warm up. Yuri was leaning against the wall of the rink, arms crossed over his chest and staring right at Omar who sighed.

“Listen, you are one of the greatest figure skaters in the world right now, Omar,” Victor began. “I know it’s a lot of pressure. And I haven’t been the best coach in supporting you when you’re obviously struggling with that stress. So, what can I do to help you out?”

Omar leaned forward and held his head up with his hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m excellent at handling stress.”

“I know you are, but you aren’t super human. Even you can have your break down at some point and I think this is the time. Is it Dmitri?”

Omar shrugged.

“Or is it Ren?”

Omar shook his head quickly, his cheeks becoming pink. Victor sighed.

“I know what Ren had did at the banquet was a bit extreme of a way of expressing his feelings but you have to admit, you saw that coming.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Omar muttered.

“Ren’s been in love with you for years. Everyone knows about it,” Victor continued. “And whatever your feelings are toward him back, you shouldn’t let that control you. You can still be friends if that’s what you want. And you can be more if that’s what you want as well. But you can’t let this affect both of you guys to the point where you’re not functioning.”

“Is Ren okay?” Omar asked quietly.

“This is his first time out on the rink since he got back to Russia,” Victor admitted. “He’s mostly been in his room, severely depressed.”

“Well, I shouldn’t have to start dating him just to keep him happy,” Omar groaned.

“No, but you shouldn’t have responded the way you did and stopped talking to him,” Victor said. “You know how sensitive Ren can be. He is his father’s son after all.”

“Both his fathers,” Omar teased.

Victor chuckled. “Anyways, I’m not saying you have to start dating my son and fall in love with him. But you should at least apologize to him and not let this affect your friendship. Because at the end of the day, that’s what’s the most important thing to Ren and to you.”

“You’re right,” Omar agreed. “I just don’t know how to approach it.”

Victor tapped his finger against his chin. “I think I know why you’re struggling.”

“Why?”

“Because you really do love him back and you don’t want to admit it,” Victor smirked.

“Argh!” Omar stood up instantly. “I’m done with practice for the day. You can stuff it, old man.”

He stormed back to the locker room, slamming the door. Victor shook his head before turning to Yuri.

“He really takes after you, doesn’t he?” he said.

“Stuff it, old man!” Yuri shouted back.

He then turned his attention back to Ren. “Okay, Ren. You’ve had a long enough of a vacation. I expect you to give it all and then some.”

“Yes coach,” Ren nodded.

He had no idea what Omar thought of him. He had no idea if Omar would ever be his friend again, never mind talk to him again. But he had already admitted to himself his feelings and was able to act on them. That was all he could do. He had to change his focus. He had Russian Nationals to win and two Altins to beat.

With newfound determination, Ren began his short program, imagining he was waltzing with Omar. It didn’t matter if Omar would ever actually dance back but it didn’t matter. Ren’s theme was love and he was going to show his love to the world whether it was reciprocated or not.


	13. Chapter 13

The tensions were high at Russian Nationals in Sochi and it was obvious why. Three spots for senior men’s singles and two spots for senior women’s singles were available for the Russian Olympic team in Grenoble. There were 9 men and 8 women competing for those spots. This competition would be a major deciding factor. Needless to say, there was no room for mistakes this time around.

Ren jogged back and forth across the hallway just outside the skating rink. It was just his luck that he was going first for his short program. His coach could tell that he was extra nervous because of that.

“Don’t let your mind get to you,” Yuri snapped. “You’re gonna get to Grenoble. That’s all you need to tell yourself.”

Ren nodded and resumed his jogging. He kept that mantra in his head as he made his way to the middle of the rink. “Get to Grenoble. Get to Grenoble.”

His program, “On Love – Philia,” could not have been any more flawless. He managed to make every jump. His spins were beautiful. The emotion of love and friendship was being conveyed so much more during this performance than ever before. And that was because Ren was sure that he had the one person on his mind who really fulfilled his understanding of philia.

Omar may not ever reciprocate Ren’s feelings, but Ren was going to work his hardest to make sure that they remained best friends and got back to the way they were before.

He finished his performance, looking out at the crowd. He easily spotted Omar’s dark, long hair up front. His face was expressionless. Ren wondered if Omar got the message. He wondered if Omar would take him back as a friend. Ren would be happy with just that because it was better than what they were doing now, avoiding each other.

_“Next we have Ruslan Orlov of Moscow with his short program…”_

Ren felt like he was on autopilot as he spoke with reporters after his program. He was pleased with his score but it was still too early in the program to know where he would stand. While the St. Petersburg team usually did well at nationals, he knew there were a couple newcomers to the skating world that could pose a challenge if he was too lax. Alexei Warshawsky for example was showing great promise this year, being the only Russian skater not from St. Petersburg to qualify for the Grand Prix series. He did not make it to the finals but he had still shown that he had potential.

Ren continued to answer questions with very generic answers. Yes, he still was planning to skate for as long as he could. No, he was not going to let the younger skaters intimidate him. Yes, he was hoping to represent Russia in the Olympics. No, he was not thinking about a specific person he was waltzing with.

He was so used to lying on the last question that it fell off his tongue so easily. Thankfully while people had seen the kiss shared between Omar and Ren at the grand prix banquet, there was no photographic evidence and most people did not believe the rumors. Of course, those who talked about it online said it likely had to do with heavy alcohol and their close friendship. No one even guessed that Ren had feelings for Omar. At least, no one who really knew Ren.

Yuri appeared and placed a gentle arm around Ren, guiding him away from the reporters and to the locker room where he could change out of his skates and costume into his sweats. He took off his contacts as well so he could put on his glasses. He then looked at himself in the mirror. The face staring back at him looked exhausted. Weeks of depression and hard training for the competition had left dark circles under his eyes that not even makeup could cover.

The door to the locker room opened and Ren saw Omar entering through the mirror. He stopped for a moment, looking directly into Ren’s eyes through the mirror. Ren gave a small smile and turned around to face his friend.

“Hey, good luck today,” he said softly.

Omar nodded. “Thanks…” he said quietly.

He then went over to where his things were and pulled his skates out of his bag. He then sat down to put them on.

“Your program looked great today,” Omar said, still looking down at his feet.

“Thank you.”

There was a prolonged silence as Ren continued to stare at his reflection in the mirror, trying hard to not look at Omar who was staring at his skates trying to tie them without looking up at Ren. Eventually, Omar stood up and started heading out of the locker room.

“Wait…” Ren said weakly, holding his hand out.

Omar stopped and turned slowly to face Ren. For the first time in weeks, they were looking directly into each others’ eyes. Ren could feel his heart racing faster than when he had gone out on the ice.

“I…”

“I miss you,” Omar said before Ren could say another word.

Ren dropped his hand that was still reaching out. “I miss you, too,” he admitted. “After this competition, can we talk?”

Omar bit his lower lip. “Yeah, we should,” he muttered. “Though I don’t know if you’re going to like what I have to say.”

“I don’t care,” Ren said. “I just want my best friend back.”

Omar sighed. “I don’t think we could ever be best friends like we were for a long time, Ren. I know you were drunk when you kissed me, but I know what you really think of me.”

Ren sighed. “We’ll talk later. You need to focus on your program.”

Omar nodded and headed out of the locker room. Ren sat down on the bench, hugging himself. He was so glad he had already done his short program because he knew he would not be able to focus the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, out by the rink, Timofey Popovitch stood in front of his parents who were smiling proudly at him.

“You’ve been doing so well his season,” Georgi said. “I have a feeling that this is going to be your best performance yet.”

He and his wife hugged their son, wishing him best of luck. Georgi then turned to Victor.

“You’ve done so well with him this season,” he grinned. “I couldn’t ask for a better coach and a better friend.”

“I’m always there for you, Georgi,” Victor winked. “But it’s really Timofey who is doing all the work. I just stand on the side of the rink and yell at him.”

“I can hardly imagine you yelling,” Georgi laughed. “You’re starting to be more like Yakov. Maybe you’ll start to get his hairline, too.”

Victor gasped. “That is so not funny!”

Timofey had already left the older men to get to the rink for his short program. The crowd cheered loudly as he came onto the ice, though mostly in shock. While Timofey had trademark long hair that reached halfway down his back, he had cut it very short, allowing it to spike up with gel. Timofey himself was still trying to get used to it, as he had only cut it the night before on a whim. It was time for a new change to go with how much he had improved as a skater.

While predictable as always, Timofey’s short program was his best ever, earning him a personal best score and placing him in second place after Ren and before two skaters who were representing the Sochi skating team. As Timofey walked away from the kiss and cry he passed by Ren who had finally left the locker room.

“What did you think?” Timofey asked, hands on his hips. “You think I’ll soon join the ranks of you and the Altins?”

Ren frowned in confusion. Timofey gasped.

“You didn’t see my program?”

Ren’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh no! I’m so sorry, Timofey! I was in the locker room and lost track of time.”

Timofey groaned. “I’m so hurt by that. That’s so unlike you, Ren. You sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I’ve been better,” Ren shrugged. “Just got a lot of anxiety.”

“What anxiety?” Georgi asked as he appeared from the crowds. He gave Ren a slap on the back. “You’ve already performed your short program. Don’t you feel relieved for now?”

Ren raised an eyebrow at Georgi. Based on the stories his parents told him, Georgi actually would be a great person to talk to about heartbreak. He at least had his fair share of experiences. But Ren also did not want to talk about it right now, knowing his energy was going to be drained talking with Omar in the next coming days. He shook his head.

“You know how I am, Mr. Popovitch,” Ren shrugged with a quiet chuckle. “Competition jitters get me no matter what.”

Later into the competition, Omar took a deep breath as he took off his jacket. Alexei got his score, putting him in second place after Ren, missing first by merely 3 points. It was too close for comfort. Omar had to score much higher than both of them. His position on the Olympic team depended on it. He handed his jacket to Victor.

“I’m going to put all my jumps to the second half of the program,” he said.

Victor raised his eyebrows. “That’s very risky. You’ve got stamina but even so, very few folks could do that.”

“I can’t afford to lose this competition,” Omar responded. “I have to get to Grenoble. I have to beat Dmitri.”

Victor nodded. “I understand you, but maybe you should at least do one jump in the beginning when you have more energy. And the other three can go to the second half.”

Omar pulled off his skate guards and silently handed them to Victor. He then turned and went on the rink. Victor shook his head.

“So stubborn, just like Yuri,” he muttered.

“I heard you,” Yuri barked from next to him.

Omar ran his fingers through his hair before he went into his opening position. He closed his eyes, waiting for the familiar song to begin. He then skated forward and lifted his leg up in the arabesque. As he stretched his leg back as far as he could, he could feel a tug in his thigh and mentally cursed himself for not stretching better beforehand.

After he had run into Ren in the locker room, he had walked down an empty hall, trying to find himself a secluded space to think. He and Ren were going to have a talk after all this was over and he still did not know what he was going to say. He had told Ren to expect the worse because he did not want to end up getting his friend’s hopes up. The past several weeks, he had thought about what his parents had said, about how Ren had been in love with him forever. He thought about that kiss and how he did not think it was just for drunken fun but rather Ren being disinhibited and able to express the feelings that he kept hidden. Thinking back at their actions and their conversations, perhaps it had been really obvious that Ren had feelings for him.

Omar groaned. He had teased Ren so much about not dating anyone when he did not realize that _he_ was the person Ren probably wanted to date. It was not like Omar had _not_ thought about the idea of them dating. He thought of it more often than not the past couple weeks. He imagined them hanging out at each others’ homes the same amount as before, sleeping over each others’ places and sharing a bed the same amount as before, laughing and making fun of each other the same amount as before. It all did not seem so bad.

He then thought about the stuff that would be different. The kissing. The emotions. The…intimate parts… Omar had never looked at Ren that way. However, knowing that Ren had probably thought of him that way sent shivers throughout his body. He still did not know if they were good shivers or bad.

When he looked directly in Ren’s eyes in the locker room, he could not breathe. The edges of his vision went dark. He felt palpitations in his heart and his mouth felt dry. He was surprised he was even able to speak. Now that he was alone again, those symptoms resolved. He groaned, banging his fists against the wall. He just wanted things to go back to normal with Ren. He wanted to feel normal again around his best friend.

Because Ren had spent more time sulking and less time stretching, his legs screamed as he tried to lift his leg up behind his head. He decided to modify the spin as he could not move as flexibly as usual. Unlike his brother, Omar had to really stretch to be able to perform some moves. He had inherited Otabek’s stocky build and it while it gave him a great push off for spins, it did not always do him so well in the gracefulness department.

As he moved into the second half of the performance, he had yet to do any jumps. He knew Victor would be furious with him because he did not listen at all. His muscles were screaming and he was panting. He was not sure how he was going to get through four jumps in the next minute and a half.

He probably should have listened to his coach.

The triple lutz went pretty smoothly considering the circumstances. Ren could hear the audience applauding as he skated around the rink, getting ready for his jump combo. As he looked up at the audience, something he did not normally do, he happened to catch a glance at Ren who was sitting close to the front. For a moment, time slowed as the two stared at each other, making eye contact for the second time that day.

Ren had a wide smile on his lips. His eyes sparkled. Omar knew that look. It was the same look that Otabek gave Yuri whenever he skated on the ice. It was the look that Erik gave Tatiana as she held and nursed their child. It was the look Jr made whenever he talked about his girlfriend, Janiah. It was the look Victor gave Yuuri pretty much all the time. It was a look of love.

It was Ren looking at the man he was in love with….

The two seconds that they looked at each other passed so much slower and Omar was already back into his routine, preparing for the quad salchow double toe loop combo. However, his mind was still thinking back to Ren and how his smile was enough to make his already pounding heart beat faster.

Omar felt the sharp pain in his ankle immediately as he hit the ground between the salchow and the toe loop. His other leg was stretched behind him so he quickly put it down to put more weight on it, but the sudden change of balance was enough to cause him to fall over, his back leg still stretched out behind him. As he fell backwards, he could feel that the stretch in his though was much more than it should have been. The pain became so severe that he almost forgot to protect his head as he fell onto the ice. When everything stopped, he laid there. The music continued for a little bit as everyone waited for him to get back up. But the searing pain in his right ankle and his left thigh were too unbearable.

Omar began to cry, not out of pain, but out of frustration. There was no way he could beat Dmitri now.

\---

_“And that is it for the senior women’s singles division. It was an amazing performance by the best figure skaters of Russia and we are quite proud of all these ladies.”_

_“Yes, but only two of them will be invited onto the Olympic Team. Of the 7 ladies who competed, the top 4 are eligible for those spots. In fourth place was Maya Kowalskaya of Sochi, age 16. The youngest of the skaters in the women’s division, she definitely shows some great potential over the next coming years.”_

_“In third place is Ekaterina Volkova of Moscow, age 27. Everyone knows her as Tatiana Nikiforova’s old rival, though of course the two are friendly with each other. She was the favorite to win this season once Nikiforova had retired but two skaters from St. Petersburg surprised us all.”_

_“That’s right. In second place was Yulia Popovitcha age 17 scoring a new personal best. She had gotten fifth place in the Grand Prix final where as Volkova had not been able to score high enough for the finals this year.”_

_“And in first place was Lara Tchaikovskaya, age 17. She had won bronze at the Grand Prix Final and was the highest scorer of the Russian skaters in that competition so it’s no surprise that she would win this._

_“She definitely made her mother, former Russian National Women’s Champion, Mila Babivecha, very proud. Now both mother and daughter can celebrate the accomplishment of being the best in their country.”_

_“And before we move onto the Men’s Singles Free Program, we are proud to announce who the head coach of the Russian Olympic team will be this year.”_

_“This year, the head coach with be Yuri Plisetsky of St. Petersburg. Plisetsky, a former two time Olympic Champion himself, eagerly accepted the position saying that Russia was going to change the way the world views figure skating this Olympics.”_

\---

“Ew, look at this article,” Lara said, handing her phone over to Omar. “There’s apparently at lot of controversy with your dad being the Olympic coach.”

Omar glanced at the title of the article and handed the phone immediately back to Lara. “I don’t really care.”

“It’s so not fair,” Lara sighed. “He’s going to choose you and Dmitri because you two are some of the best skaters in Russia, not because you’re his kids. You just have to beat everyone and then you won’t be accused of nepotism.”

“I’m not worried about it,” Omar muttered. “I’m in last place now so I can’t qualify for the team. And even if I could, it’s not like Pops would pick me anyways when he has Dmitri.”

“What are you talking about?” Lara frowned. “You got silver at the Grand Prix Final!”

“I think I should just retire,” Omar said. “The skating world is too small for two Altins.”

“That’s so not true,” Lara said. “You guys are both amazing and I’ve never seen a sibling duo so amazing. You two have the blood of some of the greatest ice skaters in the world and you are being coached by Victor Nikiforov. Everything had been set up for you guys to succeed and you’re doing it.”

“Your mother was a top skater and your father was a top hockey player and but you weren’t bred for greatness, Lara,” Omar said. “You won the competition because you are great. Because you worked your ass off at practice every day. Because you practiced even when Victor told you to chill. You have passion and talent and you took it to the next level. That makes you different from me.”

He looked down at his ankle which was wrapped up and the crutches by his side.

“And you don’t let your mind fuck up your skating. You skate your best each and every time. Unlike me…”

Lara pursed her lips. “You need to stop talking like that, Altin,” she said. “You skate your best every time, too. I’m sorry that I suggested you are great just because of who your parents are. You’re great because you are great.”

“It’s whatever,” Omar shrugged. “I’m not going to Grenoble anyways.”

“You only have to be off the ice for a week, right?” Lara asked. “And they’re not going to deny you because of one competition.”

“Tchaikovskaya, are you stupid?” Omar spat. “This competition decides who is qualified to even be considered for the Olympic team. I’ll just have to wait for the next one.”

Lara opened her mouth with attempts to reassure him again but Ren had taken the rink to begin his free skate and the cheers of the audience covered her voice. He wrapped his arms around himself in a hug.

As the music began, his arms stretched out and then up above him as he began the free program. He stretched out into an Ina Baur before skating around. He made every move prolonged and reached all the way out to his fingertips. He pulled back into an arabesque and grinned as he heard the audience collectively gasp. This was a new element he had added, trying to expand his repertoire of moves. He did not want to be known for just his jumps. If he was going to beat Dmitri, he had to excel in all forms of figuring skating.

His step sequence came next, which he executed perfectly. His first jump, a quad toe loop, was done with ease. He was going through this program with finesse. The audience cheered as the song began to build up momentum. Next came the double axel, which Ren had been practicing feverishly. He still could not get it every time in practice, never mind competition, but he had to try. He had to give it his all if he wanted a chance at the podium and therefore, Grenoble.

His hand touched the ice when he landed and he could hear the collective “ooh” of the audience. He mentally cursed himself but tried not to let it shake him up. He finished up the rest of his free program as strong as he started it, making every move stretch out beyond his limits.

His score was a personal best. However, as he sat at the Kiss and Cry between Victor and Yuri he could not smile. His interpretation score was extremely high. Clearly the judges could see the pain of love that he was trying to portray. Perhaps he put a little too much of his personal life in his performances. While it got him a great score, it also caused his chest to burn to think of why he was so passionate this time around. He glanced out into the audience where he found Omar sitting with Lara. He and Omar locked eyes for a moment and he nodded. Ren sighed, not looking forward to the conversation they would have once they got back to St. Petersburg.

In the end, Dmitri won the competition, to no one’s surprise. Ren came in second, only 5 points behind. Alexei came in third. The three of them stood on the podium with wide smiles, waving to the audience as they received their medals. They along with Ruslan Orlov, from Moscow, who came in fourth, and Timofey, who came in fifth, were announced as contenders for the Olympic team.

That evening, the skaters were in Lara and Yulia’s hotel room with several bottles of alcohol. Ren and Omar stayed on opposite sides of the room and did not drink much, something everyone noticed, but did not comment on.  They figured Omar did not want to drink much because of the painkillers he was taking for his ankle. They thought Ren wanted to cut back after all his drinking at the grand prix banquet. Still, many noticed the intense stares Ren and Omar gave each other frequently.

“Hey, Omar can I talk to you?” Timofey asked, pulling Omar out of the room. He closed the door behind him.

“What’s up?” Omar asked. “Congrats on placing in the top five, by the way.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Timofey said. “I know I’m only up for consideration for the Olympic team because you got injured. And as much of an honor as it is, I doubt they’d choose me. They would choose you easily.”

“But they can’t. I didn’t qualify,” Omar said.

“Yeah you did,” Timofey smiled. “I talked to Victor who talked to some important Olympic team people. I’m officially giving my place to you. You are more likely to get us an Olympic medal in Grenoble than I am.”

Omar’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious. You can’t do that?”

“If it means getting Russia more wins, then yes I can. And I did. As much as I would love the opportunity to compete in the Olympics, I know you deserve that spot much more. So, hurry up and get your ankle healed. You need to be in your top form for World’s and then Grenoble.”

Omar dropped his crutches as he hugged his friend. “Timofey, you’re the absolute best. Thank you so much. I owe you big.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Here's a new chapter!  
> (sorry it took a bit. I was working night shift for a couple weeks)

Neither of them said a word. Omar sat on his bed while Ren leaned against his desk from across the room. They had agreed to meet and talk as soon as they were settled back home after Nationals. A couple days passed and they did not talk. Omar was stuck at home, nursing his sprained ankle and Ren was focused on his practices. Finally, Ren texted Omar that he was coming over because if they did not talk soon they never would.

And there they were, sitting across the room from each other, not looking at each other. Omar looked down at his fingers as he uncomfortably twisted the rings he was wearing. Ren had his arms crossed and was staring out the window. He had rehearsed exactly what he was going to say but now that he was there, he could not get the words out of his mouth. Out of his periphery, he noticed Omar’s crutches leaning against the bed.

“How’s your ankle doing?” he asked.

“Better,” Omar answered, still looking at his hands. “Doc said I can start skating again in a couple days.”

“That’s good. You’ll need to be in top shape for the European Championships.”

“I’ve been working out still,” Omar said. “Been swimming and lifting weights. Doing stuff that doesn’t involve my ankle while it’s recovering. Thankfully it was just a sprain and nothing worse. I don’t know what I would do if I got a horrible injury and had to quit skating forever.”

“Yeah…” Ren agreed, thinking back to his own father. Yuuri had to retire early due to an injury on the ice about a year before his older siblings were born. While he could still skate, he never was able to do it competitively anymore. He can sometimes see it in his father’s eyes how much he missed that life.

“I think it takes an injury and time off the ice to realize how much I miss it,” Omar continued. “For a second there after it happened, I thought I didn’t deserve to compete any more. But this is the only life I’ve known. Skating, competitions, all the stress and pain that come with it.”

Ren nodded.

“I mean, one day, we’ll have to give it all up, when we’re old. But that’s not now. We’re young and we have so much potential,” Omar continued. He then looked up at Ren with a smirk. “Plus, I can’t retire until I get that quad axel before you or Dmitri.”

Ren laughed. “You’ll definitely get it before me,” he said. “I can’t even get the triple axel. I don’t understand why that jump is a thing. It just messes with the way I think.”

Omar sighed. “Ren Nikiforov, one of the world’s best figure skaters who is still unable to properly execute his own father’s signature move, the triple axel. But he is flawless in every other quad jump. It makes no sense.”

“Talk to me when you’ve polished up your quad salchow,” Ren teased. “Then you’ll have the right to tease me.”

Omar pressed his hand over his heart. “Too soon, Nikiforov,” he teased. “I still am so embarrassed about screwing up that bad.”

“I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt any worse,” Ren smiled, his shoulders relaxing.

“It’s your fault anyways.”

“What?”

Omar’s cheeks turned slightly pink. He looked out the window and muttered something. Ren walked across the room and sat on the bed next to him.

“You’re gonna have to talk a little louder than that, Omar,” he said. “What did I do?”

“I was thinking about….about you too much and I couldn’t focus,” Omar admitted, still not looking at Ren.

Ren felt his heart start racing. “What are you talking about? Was it the conversation we’re supposed to have? Or that we’re having now.”

“Yeah…” Omar said.

“Idiot,” Ren chuckled. “You can’t let your personal feelings get too much in the way of your skating. It’ll ruin you. It’s already messed me up pretty bad.”

“What are you talking about?” Omar asked, turning to face Ren. “Your skates at Nationals were amazing. There was so much passion.”

“But also a lot of pain,” Ren admitted. “Because I was thinking about you when I was skating.”

It was silent between the two men for a while. They both looked down at their hands.

“I guess we should talk about this, huh?” Omar said.

“Yeah…”

“So, you know… we don’t fuck up Europeans with our stupid thoughts and feelings.”

“I’ll admit… I’m terrified of what you have to say to me,” Ren said. “But I want to know so I can stop living in the fear of the unknown. And I want us to be friends again.”

He looked up at Omar at the same time Omar looked back at him and they both spoke at the same time.

“But I’m in love with you.”

“I don’t want to be friends with you anymore.”

Ren forgot how to breathe. He stared directly into Omar’s dark eyes, afraid to break away. He did not know what to say. Omar sighed. He knew he would be the one to break the silence first.

“I mean, you have always been my best friend, Ren,” he said. “I’ve known you my whole life and I just don’t know how to live without you. But even before you kissed me, I knew things were different. I feel like I haven’t been myself recently. I’m not the skater I used to be. I’m always distracted by trying to figure you out and how the hell my brother is always beating me. I’m getting left behind while the rest of you guys move on ahead. Pops is so disappointed in me. He says I’m letting my feelings distract me. And I can’t let that any more. If I want to win, if I want to beat you and Dmitri, I have to get you guys out of my life for a little bit.”

“There’s more to life than skating,” Ren said, finding his voice again. “Think about all the times we hang out and watch TV or travel or make fun of Piotr as he fails yet again on another date or play with Katya and watch her grow up. Someday, this will just be nothing but a memory. I don’t want you to feel like your life is over once you stop skating. Because my life isn’t just that. You have made my life much more than that. I fell in love with you because you are the only person who sees me as me and not my legacy. You see me as more than a skater. You see me as Ren. And you’re the one person in the world I can be myself around and be real with. I didn’t anticipate that I would evolve feelings for you but I did. And you don’t have to feel the same way back but please don’t stop being my friend, Omar. My life is not my life without you in it.”

Omar was looking down, his hair covering his face. Ren had been so focused in pouring out all his feelings, he did not realize until he was done that the reason Omar was not responding was because he was letting silent tears fall down his face. Ren reached forward and brushed his hair aside. Omar looked up, his eyes red.

“Tell that to my father. He has always made skating his life. He wanted nothing more than for his kids to be just as good at skating as him. He never let us do anything else. And Dmitri is that perfect child. It makes sense. Dmitri’s actually his kid. Pops and I aren’t blood related at all, why would I ever inherit his natural talent? I’m just like Äke, always coming in second place to a Plisetsky. And now I’m always coming in third to a Nikiforov. I work harder than both of you but I’ll never amount to anything good enough.”

Ren held Omar’s cheek and brushed away a tear with his thumb.

“You are more than good enough for me,” Ren said. “You are everything. How many times do I have to tell you I adore you for you to realize that you are loved and wanted? I’m not going anywhere. I am here to support you and make sure you are the best you can be.”

“Why would you love me?” Omar asked. “How could you ever love someone like me?”

“Because,” Ren said with a small smile. “You bring me so much more to my life than skating ever could. And if I could never skate again, as long as I had you, I would still be a winner.”

Omar stared at his lips that were still in a smile. He felt like his body was on autopilot as he leaned forward just a little bit. He let his lips brush up against Ren’s. They were softer than he thought. He backed up a few millimeters, his heart racing. He was surprised that this time around he was not disgusted by it. Perhaps because this time, it was it his choice. He moved forward again and kissed Ren a little harder. He felt his chest fill with warmth. He parted but they kept their faces close.

“We can’t do this and be friends, you know,” Omar said, focusing hard on remembering how to breathe.

“So if you don’t want to be friends,” Ren asked. “What do you us to be?”

Omar bit his lower lip, looking absolutely terrified. “I don’t know…”

\---

“Are you serious?” Yuri shouted into his phone. “We have the European championships coming up in a month. They don’t have time for this!”

He hung up the phone and proceeded to throw it across the room. Otabek’s eyes looked up from the book his was reading at the sudden movement in front of him. When he realized it was the phone that was thrown, he looked back down at his book. This was a typical day in the Altin household.

“I can’t believe this,” Yuri said, followed by a slew of curses.

Otabek sighed and closed his book. “What’s going on, Yuri?”

“The Russian Olympic Committee said it would not be fair if all of the skaters are from the St. Petersburg team with me coaching. It would look bad. It’s not my fault I’m such a good coach. That’s why they chose me to coach the Olympic team. Because I am the best.”

“So, they chose the skaters?”

“They chose three of them,” Yuri said, sitting down on the couch. He lowered his voice so their sons who were in the house could not hear since there was no official announcement yet. “Dmitri, Ren and Lara are already chosen. And really, Yulia and Omar deserve the last two spots but apparently it would look like they were getting special treatment.”

“So, they’re choosing people who didn’t perform as strongly this year for the team just to avoid a controversy?” Otabek asked, leaning forward, more interested in the conversation.

“They want to have a new competition. Omar versus Warshawsky and Yulia versus Volkova. And the winners would be on the team.”

Otabek pursed his lips. “Neither Alexei or Ekaterina made it to the Grand Prix Final this year. And Yulia scored much higher than Ekaterina.”

“Right? And Omar would have totally kicked Warshawsky’s ass if he didn’t get injured.”

“They shouldn’t let just one competition decide who the best skaters are to represent Russia,” Otabek said.

“Exactly,” Yuri agreed. “But get this. This competition to decide the last two spots is not with their current programs. The competition is going to be choreographed by one of the Sochi coaches, so there is no bias.”

“What?”

“That’s right,” Yuri said, his voice shaking with anger. “They want to have the skaters learn brand new choreography over the course of a week and then compete against each other to decide who is going to be on the Olympic team.”

Otabek dropped his book and his mouth was wide open.

“And even worse, they’re gonna make this an event where people can buy tickets for. It’s totally just a money-making scheme. It’s total bullshit.”

“What are we going to do about it?” Otabek asked.

“I don’t know. I’m gonna talk with Victor. The committee is in love with him. Maybe he can get them to be more sensible and just take our skaters. At the end of the day, we want Russia to win.”

It turned out that the last minute competition was completely Victor’s idea. The Olympic committee had approached him with their dilemma of having all the skaters from the same team representing Russia. He suggested having another competition that was different from their usual season competitions to see who truly was deserving to go to the Olympics.

“It was like the old Onsen on Ice competition you and Yuuri had all those years ago!” Victor explained to a fuming Yuri.

“This isn’t just a fun competition you can make up on a whim, NIkiforov,” Yuri shouted. “This is literally deciding my team for the goddamn Olympics.”

Omar was silent when Victor and Yuri explained to him the circumstances. Yuri continued to make comments about it being a horrible idea but Victor said that this was Omar’s chance to show that he could rise above any challenge before him. It was a chance to make him stand out in the team. Omar nodded. He agreed with his father that this competition was unnecessary but he also was grateful for the second chance.

Ren was sitting next to him when everything was explained. He kept quiet as the coaches kept their focus on Omar. However, when they asked if Omar had any questions, Ren could not help but speak up.

“Uh… do I have to compete in this, too?”

Victor coughed uncomfortably and Yuri bit his lower lip. Ren felt his heart sink. Did this mean he was not even on the team? He could have sworn that he deserved a chance. Heck, he had been in the Olympics four years ago and he was a much better skater now.

“Oh, we should just tell him,” Yuri said to Victor who nodded.

“Ren, you’ve already been chosen for the team,” Victor explained. “The committee wanted you back from the beginning of the season.”

“What?” Omar’s jaw dropped. “But I beat him at the Grand Prix Final the past two years! He only beat me at nationals because I was injured. That’s so not fair.”

“Listen, I don’t get a say in who I get to coach,” Yuri explained. “But what I demand are the best skaters that Russia has to offer. So, you just have to prove that. And I know you will do that easily. So, you work your ass off in Sochi and show that Warshawsky kid just what us St. Petersburg skaters are made of.”

Omar leaned forward, covering his face with his hands. This was even more stressful than before when he was waiting to hear if he could even get on the Olympic team. Now he had to compete against Alexei Warshawsky of all people. While he would easily beat the other skater with his current performance, the fact that he had start brand new and compete against him with that made things much more complicated. That and he had his regular performances to practice for the European championships coming up.

Ren put a reassuring hand on his friend’s back. “Listen, I’ll come down to Sochi with you and help you out with whatever you need. You’re totally going to win this and we’re going to Grenoble together.”

“That’s a great idea,” Victor smiled. “Is that all right with you, Yuri?”

“As long as he’s still practicing while he’s in Sochi,” Yuri said, his arms crossed. “I expect recordings of you going through your routines to send to me. I don’t want you losing momentum just because you’re supporting Omar.”

“Of course!” Ren agreed.

Yuri smiled. “I’m glad you guys are friends again. It was so freakin’ awkward having to tip toe around you guys all the time.”

Omar and Ren blushed at each other.

\---

Karina Sezim was no sweet lady. She was a hard, strict coach who expected discipline of her pupils. She stood in front of the four skaters who would be competing against each other in just a week’s time. They all stared at her silently, sweat already building on their foreheads.

“Now I know this is already hard enough, taking you away from a week’s worth of practicing for the European Championships but we all know what the real competition is and that is what this week is about. We want only the best to represent Russia. You guys are great but I want the world to see just how great you can actually be. Now, I started the choreography for the songs that you guys have chosen. You will have the same amount of time with me every day and that is the only skating you will be permitted. You are allowed to be on the rink during open skate hours to practice your competition routines for Europeans but you will not be allowed to practice the routines I am about to teach you. I do not want any spectators and I want things to be fair amongst you four. Anyone who fails to comply with these rules will be disqualified from the competition.”

“Yeesh, who picked this woman to be our coach?” Omar muttered in Kazakh.

“And we will speak only in Russian,” Sezim barked in Kazakh. “So that everyone is aware and understanding of what is going on.”

Omar bit his lower lip. He should have figured from her name and darker complexion that she was likely Kazakh like him. However, he was used to being able to use to being able to use the language back home where his father and he were rare amongst the Russians.

“Also, there will be no spectators,” Sezim said, turning to Ren who was sitting in the stands.

Ren jumped up quickly and ran out, not wanting to get Omar in trouble. Sezim then clapped her hands and ordered all except Yulia to leave. It was Yulia’s turn to practice first. The rest of them had a folder that had their schedules and a copy of their song available to them.

By day three of the week, Omar was ready to break. He staggered into the hotel room where he and Ren were staying and fell directly on the bed. Ren ran over to the bed to help him take off his shoes. He gasped to see how beaten up they were, much more than would be expected of a usual practice.

“That woman is going to be the death of me,” he mumbled. “I’m not going to survive long enough to get to Grenoble, even if I qualify.”

Ren quickly ran to the bathroom to grab fresh washcloths and ran them under warm water. He then went back into the main room to wash Omar’s feet. He hissed as his cuts and scrapes were cleaned but he let Ren continue. Ren then grabbed his first aid kit, pulling out the antibiotic ointment and bandages.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, man. You’re the best,” Omar said.

“My pleasure,” Ren said with a smile. “It just sucks that you’re in this situation to begin with.”

“I agree with Pops,” Omar sighed. “This is totally a media plug and a way for the Figure Skating Federation of Russia to get more money. It has nothing to do with what is best for the team.”

“Think of it as another challenge to go with your theme of determination,” Ren suggested. “You’re determined to get to the Olympic team no matter what it takes. A few extra cuts and bruises and exhausting days are worth it.”

“Easier said than done,” Omar groaned. “Hey, let me take a shower before you put bandages on me.”

“Good idea,” Ren said. “You need help getting up?”

“Nah, I got it,” Omar said with a grunt and pushed himself up. He now found his face very close to Ren’s and immediately blushed. Ren quickly backed up.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Omar said. “I’m still trying to get used to…whatever it is we’re doing.”

“Nothing for you to focus on right now with this challenge ahead of you,” Ren said. “Now go shower so we can watch bad TV and eat room service.”

“I like how you’re thinking, Nikiforov,” Omar said and got out of bed to the shower. He picked up his phone and pulled up a song. He handed it to Ren. “Listen to the song she picked out for me.”

Ren took the phone and listened, instantly recognizing the song from a children’s movie. He was surprised that Sezim would pick a song that worked into his theme. Perhaps she did that on purpose, to make things a little easier for the skaters who were already trying to surpass a mounting challenge. He sighed looking toward the bathroom where Omar had turned on the shower. He felt horrible that Omar and the others had to do this.

When Omar finished his shower, he changed into more comfortable clothes and then looked at the room service menu while Ren bandaged his feet. He made the order for them and they looked for something on TV while they waited. Omar’s stomach was growling by the time they heard a knock on the door. Ren got up to get the food. He then sat down on the bed close to Omar, laying out the food in front of them. As they ate and watched TV, they slowly and unconsciously inched closer together. Eventually Ren hesitated but then brought his arm up and around Omar’s shoulders. Omar leaned into the embrace and continued to eat, staring ahead at the TV. None of them said anything about it but it felt right.

\---

Yuri, Otabek and Victor arrived on the day of the competition to support Omar. He hugged his fathers, a rare event based on Yuri’s raised eyebrows.

“Has it been really bad?” he asked.

“Horrible,” Omar groaned. “Sezim is a very painful coach.”

“She’s really good though,” Otabek said. “I knew her back when we were both training in Almaty. She was Kazakhstan’s best women’s singles skater during her time.”

“That explains why she can speak Kazakh,” Omar said.

“She moved to Russia because she met a lovely Russian lady who was in the skating scene as well,” Yuri said. He smirked at Otabek. “It seems like you Kazakh’s all have a type.”

“You, too, Omar,” Victor teased. “I know you and Ren have been spending a lot of time together. He even came down here to stay with you while you prepared for this challenge. It’s so sweet of him. He really cares.”

Omar rolled his eyes. This was why he and Ren had not yet defined their relationship nor told anyone. If Victor’s teasing was going to be this bad by them being near each other again, then it could only get worse.

“Otabek!” Sezim called out as she joined the group.

“Karina!” Otabek smiled and began speaking with her in Kazakh. They took off to catch up leaving Omar with the two coaches.

“I’m looking forward to seeing you skate, Omar,” Victor smiled. “I’m confident that you will surpass this challenge easily. I know what you’re capable of.”

“Thanks coach,” Omar said. “I’ll make you proud.”

“I’m gonna find Ren and sit with him,” Victor said. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Omar was then left with Yuri who had his arms crossed over his chest. He pursed his lips trying to think of what to say.

“I’m not going to let you down, Pops,” Omar promised him.

“You better not,” Yuri responded. “You are the one who should have been put on the Olympic team without question. But I guess this is their way of trying to be ‘fair.’ So, don’t screw this one up, okay? Because if you do, maybe you don’t deserve to be coached by me for Grenoble.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t screw up.”

“You seem more relaxed than normal. I’m glad. But don’t go too easy. Warshawsky is still a good skater. I would love to coach him and he would do well. But the person I want to coach the most is my son.”

He awkwardly put a hand on Omar’s shoulder and patted it.

“I’m proud of you, Omar,” he said with a warm smile, the first time that Omar had seen one on his face in a long time. “Now go kick ass.”

Omar nodded. The announcer called out that it was time for the skaters to make their warmup laps. Omar took off his skate guards and headed into the rink. As he skated around with the other four, he looked up at the crowds. He could see signs for all four skaters in support mixed with the Russian flags. No matter who came out of this competition on top, they would continue to make Russia proud at the Olympics. They were four of the best skaters in the world.

Yulia skated close to him. “Hey, Altin,” she said with a smirk. “Let’s show these Moscow losers how St. Petersburg skates.”

Omar nodded and then skated forward into a triple axel, earning applause from the audience. Yulia followed with a triple toe loop. Omar could not stop grinning. So much for hoping the best person won. He was going to win. He was going to show them all that he was the best skater of Russia. He would put on a performance that night that was better than anything his father, his coach or his brother had ever showed in their careers.

Yulia was the first to skate. She took off her jacket leaving her in her leotard, a skirt and tights and gloves. Because everything was put together last minute, there were no formal costumes. But she still looked professional, her hair up in a tight bun and bright green eyeshadow over her lids. A green leaf hairpiece was added to the side of her bun.

The [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8aT6xPsKSI) chosen for her was light and airy going with her theme of nature. A guitar played a light tune. While the theme was similar to her other programs, the style was much different. While she usually was deep and passionate in her skates, Yulia danced like a fairy on the ice. She let her arms flow around her as she danced more than skated. She skated a beautiful arabesque across the ice, earning applause from the audience. Her jumps looked effortless, her skit flaring out. She landed each one with precision. She looked absolutely beautiful. Her father, Georgi, was in tears from the audience as he watched her skate in a way he had never seen her before. His daughter had truly grown up and matured on the ice.

When she had finished, the audience roared. She had given them a perfect, beautiful, mature performance, different from anything they had seen before.

Alexei went up next. He skated to the center of the rink wearing a long sleeve, black shirt and red pants. His[ music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnRH-wWF6LY) went along with his theme of “Overcoming Challenges” but the style was so different. It was a rap, similar to stuff American skater Leo de la Iglesia and his son Diego were more famous for. In fact, Omar was pretty sure he’s seen Diego do this song in a program before. Regardless, Alexei, who was used to Russian pop for most of his song choices, was obviously struggling with the American rap style. Sezim made sure to challenge him with a skating style that incorporated more hip hop and less ballet like he was used to. It was obvious that he was a lot more stiff and nervous and it reflected in his program.

The only thing he was able to execute well were his jumps and spins. Technically he did just fine but he was not handling the performance that well. Omar winced, hoping that it would not reflect too poorly on his score, but also secretly hoping it meant that he had this competition down. Then again, Sezim made the style of his own program different than he was used to so he could just as easily do as poorly. Maybe that was the point of this challenge, to put the skaters in a position they were not used to.

Alexei finished to a round of applause and then skated off the rink, his shoulders slumped. He did not make eye contact with Omar.

Ekaterina was third. She was dressed in a long, sheer skirt over her leotard. Her theme was “finales” which she had originally not told anyone until she formally announced that this season would be her last before retiring. The[ music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWd74E5JaaM) chosen for her was well suited to that theme. It was a heavy, rock song, different from her usual classic songs she went with. She really embraced the change though, allowing her raw emotions to be let out on the ice. It was clear how much fun she was having on the ice. Even when she slipped and fell on a triple lutz, she was able to get up and continue. When the singer began to sing higher she increased the energy, reaching out to the audience, as if she were asking for an encore.

_“I wasted my time, til time wasted me._ _”_

Omar stood on the sidelines, his heart pounding. He was the next one to skate. He was not going directly against Ekaterina but he could really feel her sadness knowing that it was her final season skating.

_“The person I am are the parts I play._ _”_

Omar sighed. Ren had told him there was more to life than just skating. But he could not help but see himself in Ekaterina’s skate. There were days that he wondered if he should retire early. Compared to his brother, he was old news and did not have the same potential. He would always be overshadowed by his younger brother.

Ekaterina finished with a combination spin and immediately jumped out of the spin, reaching out to the audience before falling onto her knees. The audience went wild. Yulia bit her lower lip, wondering if she still had a chance.

Omar was the final one to skate. He took off his jacket, wearing a tight fitting blue shirt and pants with his gloves. His hair was pulled back with a braid on one side leading up to a ponytail. Makeup had made his eyes stand out even more and allowed him to look more intense. He was covered in glitter spray, trying to mimic the sparkle of the ocean.

Ren thought he looked absolutely stunning. He sat with Victor, Yuri and Otabek in the crowd, his mouth wide open in shock. He watched as Omar skated to the middle of the rink and got into his opening pose with one foot pointed back behind him, one hand touching his heart and the other hand reaching out in front of him. Then, the[ music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNra8eK0K6k) started with the simple sounds of the ocean followed by a beautiful woman’s voice singing.

Omar reached out in front of him as the skated forward and then spun around, skating backwards and placing both hands on his heart. He made every move exaggerated, really making every kick, every spin, and ever turn stretch out his whole body. He kept reaching forward, reaching out. He wanted to win that gold.

As the percussion hit, the style of Omar’s performance changed. He swung his hips side to side to go with the rhythm and he snapped his fingers. As the song got more upbeat, he moved into a rather complex step sequence. He rolled his body starting from his head through his shoulders his torso and down to his hip. A huge grin filled his face. With every move, he added flare and sass. He shimmied and then skated for his first jump. He landed it to the applause of the audience. He smirked and kicked his hip out to the side and winked at the judges. He was going to show them just how far his determination would take him.

He spread his arms out as he skated forward, as if he were greeting the audience. As the song increased in key, he moved to a jump with both legs out in the air on the sides, a move he had never attempted on the ice before. He wobbled a little on the landing but did not fall. He grinned as he heard the audience’s applause. This was not as stressful as he thought it was going to be. In fact, for the first time in a long time as a competitive skater, he was actually having fun. He could feel the music and feel his emotions. He knew he had this. He finished off with a triple lutz, triple loop combo and then went into a combo spin that he was famous for. His ending pose had him with his hands on his hips, one hip popped out to the side and a confident smirk on his face.

The audience went wild.

“That was amazing!” Victor squealed. “I’ve never seen Omar skate like that!”

“So much sass,” Yuri muttered.

“I wonder where he got that from,” Victor teased.

“Clearly you,” Yuri huffed, pushing Victor away.

Ren ignored the coaches bantering as he continued to clap. Omar was making a circle, waving out to the audience. Ren could feel the tears pooling in his eyes. How much he loved seeing Omar skate his best. How much he loved Omar.

The judges convened for a very short period of time before they announced that Omar and Yulia had fairly won the competition and recommended them to be on the Olympic team. Yuri and Victor cheered for their students. Otabek clapped with a soft smile. Ren punched a fist in the air.

Omar shook hands with Alexei both of them giving each other a friendly nod.

“Congratulations, Altin,” Alexei said. “You deserved to get on the team anyways. But it was great competing against you. You’re amazing.”

“You’re great yourself, Warshawsky,” Omar said. “See you in Seoul for Worlds.”

“See you then,” Alexei smiled. “And I’ll be cheering for you in Grenoble.”

“I’ll make sure to make you proud,” Omar responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs  
> Yulia's Skate - Forest of Hope by CSGuitar89  
> Alexei's Skate - Wrote My Way Out from the Hamilton Mixtape  
> Ekaterina's Skate - When the Crowds are Gone by Savatage  
> Omar's Skate -How Far I’ll Go by Alessia Cara


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crashes in 10 months later with a starbucks.  
> Um... my job takes over my life and it took me forever to write this chapter.  
> Maybe you all haven't forgotten me?

The Europeon Championships were held in Gevena that year. 30 women, men and pair skaters came from all over the EU to compete for the yearly event. 28 countries were represented with one member in each division. Russia had an additional 2 male spots to fill as Omar and Ren had won first and second place respectively, earning extra spots for their team and one extra female spot as Tatiana had won first place the year before, earning an extra spot. As expected, the St. Petersburg team was representing all of Russia. Yuri made sure to call up Sezim and rub it in her face that he was a better coach than her. Otabek apologized for his husband’s brash behavior.

There were several groups of people going at a time for their short program, with only the top 8 being able to compete with their free program so competition was fierce. Dmitri was the first of the Russian skaters to complete his short program, stunning the audience and judges alike. He ended up with a new personal best and very close to the world record his father had broken at the same age. That record has since been broken twice but it was still quite an accomplishment. Ren and Omar also made it to the free program placing second and fifth respectively.  

The night after the men’s free skate, the Russian skaters decided to make a trip out to a restaurant for dinner. Elias and Julia Giacometti joined to provide translation of the menu. With them came Italian skaters Domenica Crispino and Teo Nekola. Dmitri wanted to stay at the hotel as the crowd was too big but Yulia and Lara made him go anyways. With such a large group around a round table, no one noticed when Ren subtly placed a hand on Omar’s knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“I don’t need you to baby me,” Omar muttered under his breath. “I’m not mad.”

“But you’ve been super quiet,” Ren whispered back. “And I know you didn’t want to go out here with everyone when you’d rather be busy brooding at the hotel but this is good for you.”

“I knew that my ankle injury and that stupid extra competition would mess me up. I didn’t get enough practice as I would have liked. But it’s okay because it’s the free skate that really matters. That’s worth more points.”

He placed his hand on top of Ren’s and gave it a squeeze. He glanced up at him and gave a small smile. “Seriously, don’t worry about me.”

“Will you two stop flirting over there?” Lara teased from across the table.

Omar immediately let go of Ren’s hand. “What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Lara said with a smirk. “We were just talking about how Domenica’s dad was crazy when he was our age and super overprotective of Teo’s mom.”

“My father was pretty sure Uncle Michele was actually in love with my mom.,” Teo laughed. “I’m pretty sure he was overprotective because he didn’t like the idea of his best friend getting with her.”

“Really?” Lara chuckled. “I heard that your dad and Domenica’s dad were secretly together and your mom and my mom were secretly together.”

“Mila and Sara a thing?” Julia burst out laughing. “Gosh, I know there’s always rumors and gossip but who came up with these ideas? We know Mila had her eyes on every hockey player she came across.”

“So, did your dad,” Dmitri teased.

“My dad had his eyes on every hot guy to begin with,” Julia clarified. “Have you seen some of his skates when he was competing?”

“Oh, god! They’re so embarrassing,” Elias groaned. “I’ve been scarred for life.”

“I feel like your skates are similar,” Omar teased. “I know you’re going with the whole confidence theme but is it really you saying ‘Hey boys look at me! Julia Giacometti is a grown woman now!’”

There was an awkward silence as everyone turned toward Julia and Domenica. Domenica covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. Ren was the only one besides Omar who was confused. Omar frowned. Lara gave him a playful shove.

“If you two weren’t too busy whispering sweet nothings to each other and actually participated in the conversation, you would have heard that Julia and Domenica are together now.”

“Wait, what?” Omar gasped. “When did that happen?”

“Since the Grand Prix Final,” Domenica said. “But we haven’t told our parents yet. Not that they wouldn’t approve. We just wanted to wait a little to see how things would go and then wanted to tell you guys about it first.”

“Well, I’m happy for you,” Ren smiled.

“And we were waiting to hear about you and Omar making your announcement,” Lara smirked.

“We’re not together,” Omar groaned.

“Suuuuure you’re not,” Lara chuckled.

“Seriously, we’re friends,” Ren added, waving his hands in front of his face.

“It’s only a matter of time though,” Dmitri muttered before taking a bite of his soup.

His older brother glared at him. Dmitri had not said a word the entire dinner and now he had decided to speak up.

After dinner, everyone headed back to the hotel because the girls had their short program the next day. After getting into their hotel room, Omar closed the door and made sure it was locked. He sighed.

“Are we obvious, Ren?” he asked.

Ren looked over his shoulder as he took off his jacket. “Obvious about what?”

“That we’re together?”

Ren’s heart beat faster. “We’re together now?”

Omar turned around and leaned his head back against the door. “I don’t know, Ren. We’re not just friends anymore.”

“But we’re not boyfriends,” Ren reminded him. “You don’t want that with us.”

“I don’t even know what I want anymore,” Omar responded.

Ren held out his hand and Omar looked at before taking it. He then let Ren lead him to the bed and take off his jacket. Ren then wrapped his arms around Omar and rested his chin on his shoulder.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about,” Ren asked.

“Everything. Us. Rumors that go around. I mean, they clearly stick around whether they’re true or not. They were talking about Domenica and Teo and Lara’s parents. I mean, those rumors lasted even onto their kids.”

“There must has been some reason for those rumors,” Ren assumed him.

“They were best friends. They were close. Like we are.”

“But the rumors of how I feel about you are not exactly false,” Ren teased. He squeezed Omar a little tighter.

“But that should reflect on you, not me.”

Ren let go of Omar and frowned. “Wait… is this about how people see you? You shouldn’t care about that.”

“Of course I should care about that,” Omar groaned, turning to face Ren. “My parents left this legacy of being top figure skaters and world famous. I barely have Pops’ talent or Ake’s smoothness. I’m annoying and brash and self centered. I have too high expectations for myself but don’t want anyone to see me fail. I constantly have to compete against you, the perfect child of THE Victor Nikiforov, and Dmitri, who may not be personable but damn good at what he does. You guys are the favorites. I am nothing. I want people to look at me the way they look at my parents, the way they look at your parents, at you. I want respect.”

Omar’s eyes began to tear up. 

“I don’t really know what to do when you cry like that,” Ren admitted.

“Goddamnit,” Omar groaned, shoving Ren away. “I’ve been so emotional lately, I can’t help it.”

“Should I kiss you or something?”

Omar raised an eyebrow. “What the fuck will that do to solve anything?”

“I don’t know,” Ren said, blushing. “I just don’t know what to do.”

Despite the tears, Omar began laughing. “Nikiforov, if you are trying to get me to fall for you, you’re doing a horrible job at it. You don’t have to do anything fancy for me. Just be yourself.”

Ren’s face turned red. Unlike Omar, he had never had interacted with anyone who knew his feelings for them. He did not know what to do and how to not overstep his boundaries. He sighed and reached forward to grab Omar’s hands again.

“Listen to me, Omar,” he said softly. “You cannot expect others to respect you if you don’t respect yourself.”

Omar sniffed.

“You’re an amazing skater and an even more amazing person. You don’t need any influence from your parents or your brother. You build your own legacy. You go out there for the free skate and you show them that you are the best out there.”

Omar bit his lower lip.

“You have to believe in yourself,” Ren said. “I believe in you.”

“That makes one of us,” Omar sighed.

Ren leaned forward and kissed Omar’s cheek. “I hope someday you will believe in yourself, too.”

\---

The men’s free skate started with the skater currently in 10th place, a guy in his late twenties from Austria whom Ren had seen in previous competitions. He gave a great performance but his scores were much lower than what he would score even on a bad day. He watched several other skaters until he went back to begin stretching. He passed by Omar who was jogging in place and listening to music on his headphones. The headphones happened to have cat ears on them.

“Way to channel your inner Plisetsky,” Ren sniggered.

“What did you say?” Omar asked as he took off the head phones.

“Those yours?” Ren asked, pointing to the headphones.

“No, they’re Pops’. I forgot mine back home so I have to use his,” Omar deadpanned. “I’ll never forget mine again.”

Ren laughed. “Well, good luck. Kick ass out there.” He held out his hand to shake.

“Will do,” Omar smiled, grasping Ren’s hand. “And that’s for being there for me. You’re the best friend a guy could ever have.”

“Happy to help,” Ren smiled back. “Now give me some good competition. I’ll be watching on the TV back here. Sorry I can’t watch it live.”

“It’s fine,” Omar said before he put the headphones back on and went back to focusing. 

When it was Omar’s turn to go onto the rink, he took off his jacket and handed it to Victor before reaching down to reach his skate guards.

“Now I want you to take it easy and do what your body tells you to do,” Victor said. “Don’t overdo it with your ankle. I don’t want you losing a chance at the Olympics.”

“I’m gonna do the skate regardless of how my ankle feels,” Omar responded. “I’m here to win, not take it easy.”

Victor sighed. “Just don’t get a major injury out there.”

Omar nodded and took off on the ice. He made his way to the center of the ice and waited for the music to start. When the guitar’s solemn tune began, he allowed his arms to sway as he always had. He kept everything as light and fluid as possible. Trying to remain relaxed. As he went into his first jump and landed on his bad ankle, he gasped a little as it hurt more than he anticipated. Just then, the music hit the point where the excitement began and Omar could really show his determination.

He may not be as naturally talented as Ren and Dmitri. His body was shorter and stockier. He was not as graceful. His skates were about precision and perfection and less about beauty. But there was one thing he showed more than anyone else who was competing that night. He was determined to be the best.

And as the skate was heading toward the end, where he had a planned triple flip, double toe loop combo, he decided to take the extra mile. He was going to show just where his determination could take him. Making sure to hold one arm in the air on the first jump, Omar when into his first quadruple flip ever in competition. As he landed on his ankle again, he screamed out in pain, but he kept going with a triple toe loop afterwards, both hands in the air.

The crowd roared. Omar felt tears streaming down his face. His ankle was on fire. He finished his step sequence, though it was a little sloppy. He then went into the final spin combination to end his performance. And the second the music ended, and he came to an abrupt stop by slamming his foot on the ice to stop his spin, he collapsed to the ground.

He stayed there for a few moments, trying to collect himself before he managed to get himself up on his good ankle and stand up to face the crowd. His face was wet with tears and his ankle was burning. However, he managed to pump his fist in the air in triumph.

Ren grinned. It was the best performance he had ever seen Omar perform this year. And when he sat at the kiss and cry and they revealed the score, it seemed that the judges felt that way too.

\---

Ren stepped away from the reporters and made his way over to the corner of the banquet hall where Omar leaned on his crutches, nursing a glass of wine. The color of the wine was lighter than those that were being passed out, as if it were watered down. Or rather as if a lot of vodka was added to it. Omar had a dark aura around, one that no one except Ren was willing to cross over and get close to him. He reached forward and took the glass of wine and vodka from him.

“I think you might have an alcohol problem,” Ren said simply.

“I have a lot of problems,” Omar grunted. “Can we go now?”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here before anyone realizes how drunk you are,” Ren muttered. He could smell the alcohol under Omar’s breath. If Yuri or Otabek realized their son was acting this way, Omar would not see the light of day again. He stayed behind Omar who struggled to hobble out of the bankquet room with the crutches and down the hallway. After they stepped outside, the cold Swiss air stinging their faces, Ren moved in front of Omar and started to step away. Omar then reached up and grabbed Ren’s hand, holding it tight.

“Don’t  leave me,” he whispered. “You’re the only thing that seems to keep me still right now.”

Ren sighed, looking at Omar, his head down, his hair falling over his face, obscuring the tears making their way down his cheeks. He glanced around and saw that there was no one else on this balcony around them, no one brave enough to stay out in this cold for very long.

Omar gasped as he was pulled forward into Ren’s arms. The crutches fell to the ground. His face pressed against his chest and he felt Ren’s strong arms around him. Only then did Omar feel he could relax his shoulders a little bit. He felt warmer in Ren’s embrace.

“Let’s go back to our room,” Ren whispered. “It’s too cold to stay out here.”

They made their way around the hotel building in the dark. They did not acknowledge anyone when they reached the front lobby where they quickly got to the elevator. As soon as the elevator closed and they were alone again, Omar pressed himself close to Ren, burying his face in his chest.

“I feel horrible,” Omar whispered.

“You’re very drunk,” Ren reminded him. “Let’s get you out of this suit and get you some water.”

After they had gotten to their room and changed out of their suits into pajamas and had two water bottles on the nightstand next to them, they both crawled into bed, lying on their sides, facing each other. Ren began running his fingers through Omar’s hair.

“I hate that you’re seeing me like this,” Omar muttered. “I’m so pathetic. And a sore loser.”

“It’s frustrating when you don’t do as well as you would have hoped,” Ren responded. “But it doesn’t mean you didn’t try your best.”

“My best isn’t good enough,” Omar sighed. “You and Dmitri are just getting better and I remain stagnant. How to I make a personal best score and still only place bronze. You actually got a triple axel for the first time and it was amazing and I couldn’t be more proud of you. And you deserve that silver medal. But my programs were the same mediocre performance everyone expects from me.”

“Omar Altin,” Ren smiled. “You are far from mediocre.”

He leaned forward to give Omar a kiss on the forehead. Omar responded by tilting his head up and kissing Ren on the lips.

“I don’t understand why you would like me,” he muttered against Ren’s mouth.

Ren wrapped his arms around Omar and pulled him closer so their chests were touching. “I love you, Omar. And I hope one day, you’ll love yourself, too.”

He began kissing a little harder and Omar did not resist. Tears continued to make their way down his cheeks and he held tight to Ren and continued kissing him back. Their hands moved up and down each other’s backs, occasionally catching underneath the hem of their shirts. And with their waists so close together, it did not take long for them to realize that the space between them had narrowed to the point that they were rutting up against each other. Ren immediately broke the kiss and looked down to notice how hard he was getting. Omar, not so much, due to how much he had been drinking.

“I’m sorry,” Ren whispered, pulling back.

Omar held tight. “No, don’t… I wanna…”

“Omar, you’re too drunk right now… I can’t.”

Omar looked up at him, his eyes puffy. Ren kissed each cheek before giving him another kiss on the lips. He then pulled out of his grasp to grab one of the water bottles on the nightstand. He handed it to Omar, encouraging him to drink it. Omar let go of Ren and sat up, tilting his head back and drinking half the water bottle in one gulp. He then put it back on the nightstand.

“Let’s go to sleep,” Ren suggested.

Omar nodded quietly before lying back down and curling close so that his face was again pressed in Ren’s chest. He then closed his eyes and let the sound of Ren’s heart beat allow him to drift off to sleep.

 

 

 


End file.
